Description
The Walsh Papers contain personal notes, research material, correspondence, and
photographs that reflect Walsh's work as poet, teacher, writer, lecturer and historian.
His personal notes include clippings and souvenirs that give a general overview of
Walsh's life; lecture notes, speeches and sermons covering such topics as Santa Clara
history and the value of a Catholic education; and some of Walsh's poems, about fifty in
number. The research material found in his papers comprise loose notes, bound notebooks,
secondary source material, and drafts of his work on the history of Santa Clara. Walsh's
research notes provide information about Mission Indians, missionary priests, and early
Santa Clara families, among other aspects of Santa Clara history. Accompanying the
complete copy of his first draft, "The History of Santa Clara," are the Jesuit censor's
comments concerning the manuscript. Walsh's correspondence captures his communication
with many people over the years including California historians and young writers seeking
advice on their poems. Other correspondence regarding personal matters is also available
in the Collection. The Walsh Photograph Collection includes photographs and postcards of
California churches, places such as Columbia and Bodie, and copies of illustrations from
his publication, Hallowed were the Gold Dust Trails.
Background
Henry Walsh was born in San Francisco on November 21, 1879. Both his father, Edward, and
his mother, Alice Carroll, were native Irish. His sister Edna was a singer in the San
Francisco Light Opera, and his brother Charles became a teacher in public schools. Young
Henry Walsh was enrolled at St. Ignatius College in San Francisco in 1893 and entered the
Jesuit Order at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Los Gatos, CA, in 1895. As a Scholastic, he
taught at Santa Clara College for a year in 1903, then left to complete his education.
Walsh was ordained a priest at St. Louis University in 1912.
Restrictions
Permission to copy or publish any portion of the Archives' materials must be given by the
Archives.
Availability
Santa Clara University permits public access to its archives within the context of
respect for individual privacy, administrative confidentiality, and the integrity of the
records. It reserves the right to close all or any portion of its records to researchers.