Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Markham (Edwin) Family Papers
MSS.2005.10.01
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: Edwin Markham Family Papers
source:
Thomas family
creator:
Markham, Edwin, 1852-1940
creator:
Markham family
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.2005.10.01
Physical Description:
2 boxes
(4 linear feet)
Date (inclusive): 1898-1994 (bulk 1910-1940)
Abstract: The Edwin Markham Family Papers (1898-1994) includes a variety of documents and photographs chronicling the life of Edwin
Markham, noted poet and California State Normal School, San Jose, graduate. This artificial collection includes newspaper
clippings, printed poems and pamphlets, photographs, and limited correspondence. The bulk of the material dates from 1910-1940.
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the San Jose State University Library Special Collections and Archives. All requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions
also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational
purposes.
Edwin Markham Family Papers, MSS-2005-10-01, San Jose State University, Library Special Collections & Archives.
Processing completed by and EAD encoded by Anneliese Eisentraut, 2006.
Charles Edward Anson Markham (1852-1940), later known as Edwin, was the youngest of nine children, born on April 23, 1852,
in Oregon City, Oregon. His parents, Elizabeth Winchell and Samuel Markham, were married in Michigan and traveled by wagon
train to settle in the Oregon Territory. His parents divorced shortly after his birth and his mother and her younger children
moved to Suisun Hills, northeast of San Francisco.
Markham received his teacher's certificate in 1870 from the California College in Vacaville, graduated from California State
Normal School, San Jose, in 1872, and then studied classics at Christian College in Santa Rosa. After graduation, Markham
taught in many communities across Central and Northern California. His first teaching position was in El Dorado County and
in 1879 he was elected county superintendent of schools. In 1884, he was a school headmaster in Hayward, and in 1890, he was
hired as the principal of the Tompkins Observation School in Oakland.
After two brief failed marriages, Markham married Anna Catherine Murphy (1859-1938) in 1898 and in 1899 their son Virgil
was born. The Markhams moved to New York and in 1901 settled on Staten Island where they would reside for the remainder of
their lives.
Markham began writing poetry in the 1870s and first sold one of his poems in 1880. He later contributed to
Harper's Century,
Scribner's Magazine, and the
Overland Monthly. He also developed friendships with literary celebrities such as Joaquin Miller,Ina Donna Coolbrith, William Dean Howells,
and Ambrose Bierce.
Markham rose to fame as a poet with the publication of "The Man with the Hoe," which was inspired by a Francois Millet woodcut
of the same name. On New Year's Eve of 1898, Markham read the poem at a party, which led to its publication in the
San Francisco Examiner. Because Markham's populist views were in line with the social reform movements of the day, his poem became an overnight
sensation.
His second-most famous poem, "Lincoln, the Man of the People" was commissioned for the centennial of Lincoln's birth and
was published in 1901 in
Lincoln and Other Poems. In 1922 Markham read the poem at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial. Although Markham's later works failed to receive
the critical acclaim of "The Man with the Hoe" and "Lincoln, the Man of the People," he was a popular figure who lectured
and made public appearances at a range of events, including labor and radical gatherings as well as literary ones.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Edwin Markham Family Papers (1898-1994) includes a variety of documents and photographs chronicling the life of Edwin
Markham, noted poet and California State Normal School, San Jose, graduate. The varied clippings in the collection indicate
the depth of local and national interest in his career and the esteem in which he was held at the normal school. Secondary
subjects represented in the collection include Markham's wife and son, the Markham Cottage on the San José State University
campus, and the Poetry Society of America.
This artificial collection includes materials from multiple sources, many of which are unidentified. A portion of the collection
was given to the university as a bequest from the C.W. Thomas family, local residents and friends of the Markham family. The
collection is organized by subject. The bulk of the collection relates to Edwin Markham and includes biographical information,
newspaper clippings and select correspondence. The remainder of the collection includes correspondence from Anna C. Markham
and Virgil Markham, miscellaneous printed materials and correspondence about Markham at SJSU. The bulk of the material dates
from 1910-1940.
Notable items in the collection include a letter from Markham to the Thomas family informing them of Anna Catherine's death,
two letters from Markham to the poet Henry Meade Bland, several signed poems, and family photographs.
The collection is organized by format.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Poets, American -- 19th century
Markham, Edwin, 1852-1940
San José State University -- History
San Jose State Normal School
Poetry Society of America
Markham, Anna Catherine, 1859-1938
Markham, Virgil, 1899-1973
Thomas family
Markham, Edwin, 1852-1940
Markham family