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Howells-Fréchette Families Papers
mssHM 27527-27619  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents
  • Processing Information
  • Arrangement

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: Howells-Fréchette families papers
    Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 27527-27619
    Physical Description: 2.40 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
    Date (inclusive): 1844-1934
    Abstract: Papers belonging to American editor and journalist William Dean Howells, his family and the Fréchette family.
    Language of Material: Materials are in English.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

    Conditions Governing Use

    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-Fréchette families papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Purchased from Marie Marguerite Fréchette, 1963.

    Biographical / Historical

    William Dean Howells (1837-1920), author, journalist, and editor of the Atlantic monthly, was the son of Ohio newspaperman William Cooper Howells. After the Civil War, William Cooper Howells, an acquaintance and client of President James Garfield, served as U.S. Consul in Quebec. The entire Howells family was active in the literary and journalistic circles of the eastern United States, and one of William Dean Howells's sisters, Annie Thomas Howells, married the Canadian journalist Achille Fréchette.

    Scope and Contents

    The collection consists mostly of letters, along with some documents, one bound volume of manuscripts, and ephemera related to the family and social life of the Howells and Fréchette families. Along with family papers, the collection also contains materials related to literary, journalistic, and political matters, including ballot counts from the deadlocked 1880 Republican Convention and medical bulletins from the time of President Garfield's assassination. Family members represented in the collection include William Cooper Howells, William Dean Howells, Achille Fréchette, and Annie Howells Fréchette. Additional members of the extended Howells and Fréchette families are represented in the collection as well. Correspondents include Mary Austin, Samuel Clemens, George Cary Eggleston, Hamlin Garland, Richard Watson Gilder, James Abram Garfield, Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, and William Henry Smith.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Huntington Library staff. In 2022, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.

    Arrangement

    Arranged alphabetically.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Authors, American -- 19th century -- Correspondence
    United States -- Politics and Government -- 19th century
    Family papers -- United States
    Letters (correspondence) -- United States
    Manuscripts (documents) -- United States
    Austin, Mary, 1868-1934
    Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 1835-1910
    Eggleston, George Cary, 1839-1911
    Fréchette, Achille, 1847-1927
    Fréchette, Annie Howells
    Fréchette family
    Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881 -- Assassination
    Garfield, Lucretia Rudolph, 1832-1918
    Garland, Hamlin, 1860-1940
    Gilder, Richard Watson, 1844-1909
    Howells, William Cooper, 1807-1894
    Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920
    Howells family
    Smith, William Henry, 1833-1896
    Republican National Convention, 7th (1880 : Chicago, Ill.)