Finding Aid for the Savage-Armstrong Family Papers 1821-1931, undated
Processed by Rebecca Fenning.
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
University of California, Los Angeles
2520 Cimarron Street
Los Angeles, CA 90018
Phone: (323) 731-8529
Fax: (323) 731-8617
Email: rfenning@humnet.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/clarklib/
©2009
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Savage-Armstrong Family Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1821-1931
Collection number: MS.2001.014
Creator: Savage-Armstrong
family
Extent:
11 bound volumes and 1 box
Repository:
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
Abstract: Papers and bound manuscripts of poet and
scholar George Francis Savage-Armstrong and his family, including
commonplace books, notebooks, military papers, photograph albums, watercolors, and other items.
Physical location: Clark Library.
Language: Collection materials in English.
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the William Andrews Clark Memorial
Library, UCLA. All requests for permission to publish or quote from
manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the William Andrews Clark Memorial
Library 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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Savage-Armstrong Family Papers, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of
California, Los Angeles.
Acquisition Information
The Savage-Armstrong family papers were acquired in 2001, as a part
of the purchase of approximately 350 volumes from the libraries of
George Francis Savage-Armstrong and his brother Edmund John Armstrong.
These rare books, many of them inscribed by members of the
Savage-Armstrong family, are cataloged as a part of the Clark Library's
rare book collection under the call number prefix "Armstrong coll." and can be searched via the UCLA Library online catalog.
Biography
Poet and scholar George Francis Armstrong was born in Dublin in 1845
to Edmund John Armstrong and Jane Savage. He was educated at
Trinity College, Dublin and later became a professor of history and
English literature at Queen's College, Cork. His older brother, Edmund John (1841-1865) was a promising poet before his early
death, and George compiled and published his brother's work in 1877. George's own first published poetical work
appeared in 1869, beginning a long and very fertile career in print that
continued up until his death in 1906. Though generally well-regarded at
the time, he came under harsh criticism from Irish literary revivalists,
particularly W.B. Yeats, and is now seen as a mostly marginal figure in Irish literature.
In 1879, George married Marie Elizabeth Wrixon. Their marriage
produced two sons, Francis Savage Nesbitt (1880-1917) and John Raymond
Savage (b. 1882), and a daughter, Arabella Guendolen (b. 1885). In 1891,
with the death of a maternal aunt, he assumed the additional surname of
Savage.
Francis S.N. Savage-Armstrong was educated at Shrewsbury School and
went on to serve in the 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment and
4th Mounted Infantry during the Second Boer War. He then served both at
home and abroad before 1914, when as a Lieutenant-Colonel, he joined his
regiment in France after the battle of Ypres. He was killed in action in France
while serving as commander of a battalion of the Royal Warwickshire
Regiment on April 23 1917, at the age of 36.
Raymond Savage-Armstrong also attended Shrewsbury School,
entering at Easter Term in 1895 alongside his older brother. Raymond served during World War I as a captain in the 4th Battalion
Leinster Regiment.
Guendolen Savage-Armstrong served as a nurse at the Richmond Military
Hospital during World War I, and after this, was active in social
settlement programs like the Hackney Girls' Club, the Pell Street Club
and the Sandes Soldiers' Home at Derry. Her notebooks also show an
intense interest and devotion to religious thought, particularly
Christian Science and spiritual healing.
Scope and Content
The Savage-Armstrong Family Papers contain material created and
collected by the Savage-Armstrongs and their extended family, dating from approximately 1821 to
1931. Most of the items are the products of George Francis
Savage-Armstrong and his three children Francis, Raymond and Guendolen,
but other unknown members of the family as well as cousin Edith-Althea
Echlin are also represented. Materials include commonplace books,
notebooks, World War I military service items, watercolors and
photographs.
Many of the items listed in the container listing below are
individual bound manuscripts, which are also cataloged separately in the
UCLA Library catalog. Loose items, such as letters, offprints, and
photographs originally laid in these bound items have been removed and are now housed
separately in individual folders as described here.
Arrangement
This collection is organized into the following four series:
- Series 1. George Francis Savage-Armstrong, (1845-1906), 1870-1901
- Series 2. Guendolen Savage-Armstrong, (b. 1885), 1901-1931
- Series 3. Francis Savage Nesbitt Savage-Armstrong (1880-1917) and
John Raymond Savage-Armstrong (b. 1882), 1890-1918
- Series 4. Extended Armstrong family members and family miscellany,
1821-1901, undated
Related Material
Armstrong collection of rare books. Armstrong coll., William Andrews
Clark Memorial Library. (Cataloged individually in the UCLA Library
online catalog)
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Echlin, Edith Althea,
1844-1927
Savage-Armstrong,
Arabella Guendolen
Savage-Armstrong,
Francis Savage Nesbitt, 1880-1917
Savage-Armstrong, George Francis, 1845-1906
Savage-Armstrong, John
Raymond Savage, b. 1882
English poetry -- 19th
century
Great Britain. Army --
Officers
Irish poetry -- 19th
century
Voyages and travels -- 19th
century
Genres and Forms
Commonplace
books
Diaries
Notebooks
Photograph albums
Series 1.
George Francis Savage-Armstrong, 1845-1906
1870-1901
Scope and Content Note
This series contains both manuscript and print items assembled by
George Francis Savage-Armstrong, or related to his literary productions.
Call No. f MS.2001.005
[Photograph albums of European travel], George Francis
Savage-Armstrong
[ca. 1870]
Physical Description: 2 volumes ([80] ; [72] p.)
Scope and Content Note
Two volumes of photographs albums kept and captioned by George
Francis Savage-Armstrong, perhaps during his European travels during the
late 1860s-1880s. Most images are of European sites (particularly
places in Italy), though there are also a significant number of images
of Turkey and a few from Palestine. In later years, it appears the
volumes may have been used as educational aids for his young sons.
box 1, folder 37
Notes on Burns and a portion of his "Epigram at Brownhill Inn,"
undated
Physical Description: 1 sheet
Scope and Content Note
In George Francis Savage-Armstrong's hand. Originally laid in his copy of
The poetical works of Robert Burns, Armstrong coll. B967p.
box 1, folder 29
Presentation letter from John Pfeiffer,
November 13, 1874
Physical Description: 1 sheet
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in George Francis Savage-Armstrong's copy of
Gerard's monument and other poems by Emily Pfeiffer, Armstrong coll. P526g.
box 1, folder 34
Pamphlet of press opinions on
Ugone,
[ca. 1870-1890]
Physical Description: 13 p.
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of
Ugone, Armstrong coll. S263u, copy 2.
box 1, folder 35
Pamphlet of press opinions on
Ugone,
[ca. 1870-1890]
Physical Description: 13 p.
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of the 1892 edition of
Ugone, Armstrong coll. S263u 1892.
box 1, folder 25
List of 23 books and a subscription to the Chaucer Society,
undated
Physical Description: 1 sheet
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of Edmund John Armstrong's copy of
The Canterbury tales, Armstrong coll. C496c. Signed "George F. Armstrong" at end.
box 1, folder 24
Letter from Henry Bernard Carpenter,
December 13, 1886
Physical Description: 4 items
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of George Francis Savage-Armstrong's copy of
Liber amoris : being the book of love of Brother Aurelius by Henry Bernard Carpenter, Armstrong coll. C295l 1887. With addressed, stamped, cancelled envelope, loose slip inscribed
"With compliments of the author" and a newspaper clipping of Carpenter's obituary.
box 1, folder 1
Uncut pages from the appendices to George Francis
Savage-Armstrong's Ancient and Noble Family of the Savages of the
Ards
ca. 1888
Physical Description: 36 p.
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of v. 1 of George Francis Savage-Armstrong's albums of European photographs (f MS.2001.005).
box 1, folder 2
"Works of George Francis Savage-Armstrong" pamphlet, printed
by Longmans and Co.
ca. 1890s
Physical Description: 20 p.
Scope and Content Note
With corrections to the listed prices. Originally
laid in at the front of Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's 1910-1931 notebook (MS.2001.011).
box 1, folder 32
"Now Ready: The Poetical Works of George Francis Savage-Armstrong" pamphlets, printed
by Longmans, Green and Co.
ca. 1890s
Physical Description: 2 items, 4 p. each
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in
Mephistopheles in broadcloth by George Francis Savage-Armstrong.
box 1, folder 33
"Now Ready: The Poetical Works of George Francis Savage-Armstrong" pamphlet, printed
by Longmans, Green and Co.
ca. 1890s
Physical Description: 4 p.
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in
The tragedy of Israel, Volume 3, by George Francis Savage-Armstrong.
box 1, folder 27
Presentation letter from S.J. Adair Fitz-Gerald,
May 1, 1893
Physical Description: 1 sheet
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of George Francis Savage-Armstrong's copy of
Ballads of a Bohemian by S. J. Adair Fitz-Gerald, Armstrong coll. F554b.
box 1, folder 30
Presentation letter from John James Piatt,
July 15, 1894
Physical Description: 1 sheet and envelope
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in George Francis Savage-Armstrong's copy of
Idyls and lyrics of the Ohio valley, by Piatt, Armstrong coll. P58i.
box 1, folder 28
Presentation letter from Arthur Stanley Megaw,
August 14, 1894
Physical Description: 1 sheet
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of George Francis Savage-Armstrong's copy of
Ode in commemoration of the jubilee of Queen's College, Belfast by Megaw, Armstrong coll. M496o.
box 1, folder 26
Notes on "History, Sessional Examination,"
1896
Physical Description: 2 sheets
Scope and Content Note
Originally
laid in at the front of George Francis Savage-Armstrong's copy of volume 1,
The complete works in verse and prose of Samuel Daniel, edited by Alexander B. Grosart, Armstrong coll. D184c.
box 1, folder 3
Pamphlet advertising
Ballads of Down by George Francis
Savage-Armstrong
1901
Physical Description: 4 p.
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's 1910-1931 notebook (MS.2001.011).
box 1, folder 31
3 copies of a pamphlet advertising "Ballads of Down" by George Francis
Savage-Armstrong
1901
Physical Description: 3 items, 4 p. each
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's copy of
Ballads of Down.
box 1, folder 20
Printed bookmarks originally laid in George Francis Savage-Armstrong's copy of
English men of letters.
ca. 1902-1905
Physical Description: 2 bookmarks
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in George Francis Savage-Armstrong's copy of
Ruskin by Harrison from the series
English men of letters, cataloged in the Clark Library collection with the call number Armstrong coll. E58.
Series 2.
Guendolen Savage-Armstrong, (b. 1885)
1901-1931
Scope and Content Note
This series contains manuscript and printed material created or
collected by Arabella Guendolen Savage-Armstrong, the daughter of George
Francis Savage-Armstrong. Materials include notebooks, commonplace
books, letters and an autograph album, which are concerned with
wide-ranging topics and events, such as World War I nursing, Christian
Science, the social settlement movement, and poetry both comic and
serious.
box 1, folder 15
Drawing of a man in a turban
undated
Physical Description: 1 p.
Scope and Content Note
Pencil drawing signed "A.S.A." Originally laid at p. 46 back of v. 2 of George Francis
Savage-Armstrong's European photograph albums (f MS.2001.005).
Call No. MS.2001.013
Album, Guendolen Savage-Armstrong
ca. 1901
Physical Description: [60] p., bound ; 23 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Commonplace book of Gwendolen Savage-Armstrong, containing passages
and poems copied from the work of her father and other poets such as Cowper, Thomas Moore,
Coleridge and Wordsworth. The first several pages are obscured at least
partially by news clippings both pasted and tipped in. Many pages in the
middle of the volume have been torn out raggedly, probably at an early
date.
box 1, folder 4
Manuscript notes on Richard II
undated
Physical Description: 14 leaves
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's 1910-1931 notebook (MS.2001.011).
box 1, folder 5
Manuscript copy of Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind"
undated
Physical Description: 5 leaves
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's 1910-1931 notebook (MS.2001.011).
box 1, folder 6
Letter to Emily Ward and unaddressed letter, from
Guendolen Savage-Armstrong
1911
Physical Description: 20 p.
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's 1910-1931 notebook (MS.2001.011).
box 1, folder 7
Photograph of a hospital ward
ca. 1917
Physical Description: 1 photograph, 7.5 x 8.5 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Originally inserted loosely in Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's 1917 autograph album (MS.2001.010).
Call No. MS.2001.010
Autographs, Guendolen Savage-Armstrong
1917
Physical Description: [172] p., bound ; 18 x 20 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Autograph album presented to Guendolen Savage-Armstrong by
the inmates of Ward A at the Richmond Military Hospital in 1917. Nearly
all entries are dated from January and February of that year and consist
of short verses, notes and some comic drawings by the soldiers
apparently under her care in her role as a nurse.
box 1, folder 8
Federation of Working Girls' Clubs Intersession Paper
ca. 1920s
Physical Description: 1 pamphlet
Scope and Content Note
Pamphlet containing prayers used at meetings of Working Girls' Clubs.
Originally loosely inserted in Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's 1910-1931 notebook (MS.2001.011) at p. 52.
box 1, folder 9
Our Own Magazine, No. 509
February 1922
Physical Description: 8 p.
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's 1910-1931 notebook (MS.2001.011) at p. 78.
box 1, folder 10
Letter from Fannie Ball to Guendolen Savage-Armstrong
2 September 1925
Physical Description: 1 letter and 1 envelope
Scope and Content Note
Letter from a young girl, regarding religious improvement, and a
Girls Club in London. It appears she may have
acted as the Club's rector previously. Originally inserted loosely
into Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's 1917 autograph album (MS.2001.010).
Call No. MS.2001.011
[Notebook], Arabella Guendolen Savage-Armstrong
1910-1931
Physical Description: [248] p., bound ; 23 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Notebook of Guendolen Savage-Armstrong dated from 1910 to 1931, and
containing original comic poetry, transcriptions of outgoing
correspodence, notes and texts of original addresses and sermons as well as
passages and quotations from religious works. Guendolen apparently served as a nurse during
World War I and worked after the war as a leader of social settlement
and welfare programs like the Hackney Girls' Club, the Pell Street Club
and the Sandes Soldiers' Home at Derry.
Series 3.
Francis Savage Nesbitt Savage-Armstrong (1880-1917) and John
Raymond Savage-Armstrong (b. 1882)
1890-1918
Scope and Content Note
This series contains manuscript and other material related to or
created by George Francis Savage-Armstrong's two sons, Francis S.N.
Savage-Armstrong and John Raymond Savage-Armstrong. Items include
childhood drawings and schoolwork, documents related to their respective
service in World War I, and other miscellaneous materials.
box 1, folder 11
Printed maps, 2 filled in by Raymond and Francis
Savage-Armstrong respectively
ca. 1880s
Physical Description: 3 leaves
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at front of v.2 of George Francis Savage-Armstrong's
European photograph albums (f MS.2001.005).
box 1, folder 12
"Euclid Revised" title page, with ownership inscription of
"F. Savage-Armstrong, School House" on the recto, and notes on geometry
on the verso
ca. 1895
Physical Description: 1 leaf
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at the front of Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's 1910-1931 notebook (MS.2001.011).
box 1, folder 36
Receipt for purchase of
Shrewsbury School Register, 1798-1898,
189-?
Physical Description: 1 sheet
Scope and Content Note
Invoice made out to "F. Savage-Armstrong." Originally
laid in Francis Savage-Armstrong's copy of
Shrewsbury School Register, 1798-1898, Armstrong coll. S561s.
box 1, folder 13
Photograph of John Raymond Savage-Armstrong
1915
Physical Description: 1 photograph
Scope and Content Note
With caption on verso: "Raymond, a few months before he was wounded
on 'Hill 60' April 1915." Photograph by Brooke Hughes, Cork. Originally
laid in at the back of v. 1 of George Francis Savage-Armstrong's European
photograph albums (f MS.2001.005).
box 1, folder 14
Sick leave recommendation letter for John Raymond
Savage-Armstrong
1915
Physical Description: 1 p.
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in Raymond Savage-Armstrong's field message notebook (MS.2001.012).
Call No. MS.2001.012
[Notes and plans in field message book], John Raymond
Savage-Armstrong
ca. 1914-1918
Physical Description: 108 leaves, bound ; 18 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Military issue field notebook belonging to John Raymond
Savage-Armstrong. The notebook contains his notes and
lists pertaining to military operations and planning while serving as a
Captain in the 4th Leinster Regiment.
Call No. MS.2001.015
[Notebook with rope ladder instructions and bird feathers],
Francis Savage-Armstrong
[19--?]
Physical Description: [164] p., bound ; 18 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Mostly blank notebook from the Savage-Armstrong family collection,
containing bird feathers laid in on the first several pages, as well as
a couple of pages (60-62) of diagrams and notes on constructing rope
ladders, and a final page containing a Latin word list.
Series 4.
Extended Armstrong family members and family
miscellany
1821-1901,
undated
Scope and Content Note
This series contains material related to members of the
Savage-Armstrong's extended family as well as miscellaneous materials
related to the family as a whole. The commonplace book of Edith-Althea
Echlin Joy, the daughter of George Francis Savage-Armstrong's first
cousin John Robert Echlin, is included as are other materials dating
from the 1820s-1850s by other (known and unknown) members of the Savage-Armstrong family. Items include commonplace books,
a photograph album and an album of watercolors, as well as brochures.
Call No. MS.2001.006
[Diary and commonplace book]
1821-1833
Physical Description: [180] p., bound ; 19 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript commonplace book and diary, dating from approximately 1821
to 1833. The volume appears to have been written by a female
relative of George Francis Savage-Armstrong's mother-in-law, Ann
Arabella Dawson Wrixon, as it mentions various Dawson family names and was
apparently written in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, where her family
lived. The volume contains both a diary kept daily from January 1, 1821
to February of that year, in addition to many pages of passages copied
from poets and writers such as Byron, Moore, Southey and Henry Kirke
White.
Call No. MS.2001.007
[Watercolor album of scenes in England, Ireland and
Greece]
1828-1831
Physical Description: [48] p., bound ; 19 x 25 cm.
Scope and Content Note
An album of watercolors and pencil drawings of scenes in the Lake
District, County Antrim and Greece by an unknown member of the
Savage-Armstrong family. The volume appears to document several
different trips over the period 1828-1831. Travels in the Lake District
during August 1828 are the most well-documented, with several color
watercolors as well as some monotone watercolor studies. There are fewer
finished watercolors of Co. Antrim and of Greece, and more pencil
studies of these locations. The drawings of Greece are of particular
interest as they show multiple views of the Acropolis as it was during
the artist's visit there in December 1830-January 1831.
box 1, folder 21
Manuscript leaf of notes on the New Testament by Edmund John Armstrong.
between 1838-1865
Physical Description: 1 leaf.
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at leaf G-3 of Armstrong coll. B582b, Edmund John Armstrong's 1837 copy of the New Testament.
box 1, folder 16
Miscellaneous commonplace leaf
ca. 1850
Physical Description: 1 leaf
Scope and Content Note
1 leaf, containing prayers on one side and a marbled pattern on the
other. Originally laid in the front of Guendolen Savage-Armstrong's 1910-1931 notebook (MS.2001.011).
Call No. MS.2001.008
[Commonplace book], Edith-Althea Echlin
1868-1877
Physical Description: [40] p., bound ; 23 cm.
Scope and Content Note
Commonplace book of Edith-Althea Echlin, a cousin of George Francis
Savage-Armstrong. Born in Co. Down, the daughter of Rev. John Robert
Echlin, Edith-Althea married Rev. George Henry Joy in 1869 and spent the
majority of her life in England. This volume contains poems copied both
before and after her marriage, and includes works by Wordsworth,
Marianne Farningham, F.S. Wilson, Caroline Bowles Southey and at least
one original poem written by her husband before their
marriage.
box 1, folder 19
Letter from Ann Arabella Dawson Wrixon to George Francis Savage-Armstrong,
18--?
Physical Description: [4] p. on one sheet
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in Armstrong coll. V365p, a copy of C.J. Vaughan's
Plain words on Christian living presented to George Francis Savage-Armstrong by his mother-in-law Ann Arabella Dawson Wrixon. This letter is her formal
presentation of this volume and (apparently) others to him.
box 1, folder 23
"In memoriam" funeral card for Ellen Jane Hodder,
1893
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in Armstrong coll. A437l, G.F. Savage-Armstrong's copy of
Laurence Bloomfield or, rich and poor in Ireland by William Allingham.
Call No. MS.2001.009
Photographs.
ca. 1901
Physical Description: [22] p., bound ; 14 x 14 cm.
Scope and Content Note
A photograph album, ca. 1901, from the collection of the
Savage-Armstrong family. It is unclear which member of the family this
album belonged to, though some of the captions on the versos of
photographs name one of the pictured persons as "Edmund." Photographs
show locations in and around Omagh, Northern Ireland, as well as
locations in London and Kent, England. Some pictures apparently taken in
Kensington Gardens show soldiers and guards in front of a tent
encampment.
box 1, folder 22
Half leaf with manuscript music on five bars.
undated
Physical Description: 1 torn leaf
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at p. 56 of Edmund John Armstrong's copy of
Calmet's dictionary of the Holy Bible, Armstrong coll. C164d.
box 1, folder 18
Garden plan drawing
20th century
Physical Description: 1 page
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in Armstrong coll. M662p, Edmund John Armstrong's copy of the
Poetical works of John Milton.
box 1, folder 17
Brochures "for sale by public treaty" of Strangford House,
Co. Down, former residence of the Savage-Armstrongs
ca. mid-1900s?
Physical Description: 4 brochures
Scope and Content Note
Originally laid in at back of v. 1 of George Francis
Savage-Armstrong's European photograph albums (f MS.2001.005).
