Saltonstall-Brooks-Lewis Family Papers

1863-1982

Guide to the Collection

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketches

Collection Description

Related Materials

Acquisition Information

Organization

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Access Terms

Materials Removed

Collection Summary

Title:	Saltonstall-Brooks-Lewis family papers
Dates:	1863-1982
Physical Description:	5 document boxes, 1 oversize box, and 3 volumes
Call Number:	Ms. N-368
Repository:	Massachusetts Historical Society 1154 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215 library@masshist.org

Abstract:

This collection consists of the personal and family papers of Muriel Gurdon (Saltonstall) Lewis, including correspondence, travel notes, newspaper clippings, memorabilia, scrapbooks, diaries, and other records. There are some scattered items of family members Peter C. and Sarah L. Brooks, George Lewis, Eleanor (Brooks) Saltonstall, and Leverett Saltonstall.

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Biographical Sketches

Peter Chardon Brooks (1831-1920)

The son of Gorham Brooks (1795-1855) and Ellen (Shepherd) (1809-1884), born at Watertown (now Belmont), Mass., 8 May 1831. He prepared for college under Samuel Eliot, and was admitted to Harvard in Aug. 1848, graduating in 1852. He devoted himself largely to agriculture, forestry, and art, and was a trustee for valuable estates. He also traveled extensively. He lived for many years on Arlington Street in Boston, then on Bay State Road. The family had a large summer estate, "Point of Rocks," at West Medford. Peter Chardon Brooks married Sarah Lawrence (1845-1915), daughter of Amos Adams Lawrence (1814-1886) and Sarah Elizabeth (Appleton) (1822-1891). Sarah (Lawrence) Brooks was an amateur and prolific photographer. She had six siblings, among whom was William Lawrence (1850-1941), who was elected a Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Massachusetts in 1893. Sarah Lawrence and Peter Chardon Brooks had two children: Eleanor (b. 1867) and Lawrence (b. 1868).

Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall (1867-1961)

The daughter of Sarah Lawrence (1845-1915) and Peter Chardon Brooks. She married in 1891 Richard Middlecott Saltonstall (1859-1922), a descendant of Sir Richard Saltonstall (1586-1661). The couple had four children: Leverett (1892-1979), Eleanor "Nora" (1894-1919), Muriel Gurdon (1896-1990) and Richard (1897-1979). Leverett Saltonstall grew up to become a senator and governor of Massachusetts. Nora Saltonstall served overseas for about a year during World War I. Upon her return she went to the western U.S. on a camping trip and contracted typhoid fever, dying in late July 1919.

Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis (1896-1990)

The third child of Eleanor (Brooks) and Richard Middlecott Saltonstall (1859-1922), she was an avid horsewoman and yachtswoman. She married in 1926 George Lewis (1887-1952), a graduate of Harvard and also an avid horseman. They made their home in Sherborn, Mass. The couple had two children: Eleanor Saltonstall (b. 1928) and George (b. 1931). Eleanor Saltonstall Lewis married Levin H. Campbell (b. 1927).

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Collection Description

The collection consists of miscellaneous personal and family papers (1863-1978), newspaper clippings and printed ephemera (1907-1982), scrapbooks, and diaries and records (1866-1945) of Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis and other family members, including her mother Eleanor (Brooks) Saltonstall, and her grandparents Peter Chardon Brooks and Sarah (Lawrence) Brooks. The collection is housed in five manuscript boxes, one oversize box, and three oversize volumes in cases.

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Related Materials

The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) holds the following collections that are related to the Saltonstall-Brooks-Lewis family papers:

Saltonstall-Brooks-Lewis family photographs, ca. 1840-1946. Photo. Coll. 33. Finding aid available at: http://www.masshist.org/findingaids/doc.cfm?fa=fap019.

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Acquisition Information

Deposited by Eleanor Campbell in Feb. 1993; gift of Eleanor Campbell in Sept. 2000.

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Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:


	I. Miscellaneous Personal and Family Papers, 1863-1978
	II. Eleanor (Brooks) Saltonstall, Travel Papers, 1896-1930
	III. Eleanor (Brooks) Saltonstall, Death of, 1961
	IV. Newspaper Clippings and Miscellaneous Printed Matter, 1907-1982
	V. Volumes, 1866-1945

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Detailed Description of the Collection


Box	Folder	Volume	Contents
			I. Miscellaneous Personal and Family Papers, 1863-1978 Contains items of correspondence, notes, invitations, materials connected with family events, memorabilia, and travel materials of Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, her mother Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall, and a few early items related to her grandparents Peter Chardon Brooks and Sarah L. Brooks, George Lewis's father, and an 1863 land transfer in Sherborn.
Box 1	Folder 1			Notes, poetry, greeting card, prayer, travel itinerary, n.d.
Box 1	Folder 2			Deed, Horatio Mason to Mary Ann Adams, land in Sherborn, 1863.
Box 1	Folder 3			Papers, 1870-1912 Sarah Lawrence Brooks, dinner guest lists, 1870; Mrs. Gorham Brooks, memorial service, 1884; George Lewis I wedding invitation, 1884; West Medford annual work list, 1908; Sarah Lawrence Brooks to Mr. & Mrs. Cobb, 1912.
Box 1	Folder 4			Papers, 1913-1914 Notes on Arboretum, 1913; Sewing Circle pamphlet, 1913; Sarah Lawrence Brooks will 1914.
Box 1	Folder 5			Papers, 1915-1919 Letters to Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall and Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, 1915; George Lewis II diploma from military instruction camp, Plattsburg, 1916; correspondence of Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall and Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis with sundry persons, 1919.
Box 1	Folder 6			Papers, 1921-1922 Richard Saltonstall wedding invitation, 1921; Julie Z. Brunnen to Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall, 1922; Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis journal entry, 1922.
Box 1	Folder 7			Papers, 1923 Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis travel notes, 1923; "Class Distinction" essay by Katharine Sherwood, 1923; Joseph McKim to Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall, 1923.
Box 1	Folder 8			Papers, 1924-1925 Lord North to Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall, 1924; James R. Woods Detective Agency reports to Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall re: Miss Holman, 1924; "Adventures of a Nora Saltonstall Scholarship Girl in France," essay by Frances B. Allen, 1925; 2 letters in French to unknown.
Box 1	Folder 9			Papers, 1923-1926 Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis wedding lists, 1923; Lord North to Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall, 1926.
Box 1	Folder 10			Papers, 1927-1928 Dedication of memorial to Arthur T. Bradlee, 1927; letters to Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall 1928.
Box 1	Folder 11			Papers, 1929 Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis notes and correspondence re: building house in Sherborn, 1929.
Box 1	Folder 12			Papers, 1930-1931 Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis notes and correspondence re: building house in Sherborn, 1930; horse pamphlets, 1931; correspondence of Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall re: paintings, 1931.
Box 1	Folder 13			Papers, 1933-1934 Christmas poem, 1933; Mary B. Forbes poem, "America," 1934.
Box 1	Folder 14			Papers, 1941 Correspondence re: family silver at Chestnut Hill house, 1940; Eleanor Lewis recital program, 1941; William Lawrence Memorial Fund brochure, 1941; Windsor School assembly program, 1941; Alice W. Saltonstall photomechanical, 1941.
Box 1	Folder 15			Papers, 1942-1943 Polly Saltonstall wedding invitation, 1942; Tufts commencement, 1943; Charles River School graduation play, 1943; First Church in Chestnut Hill items, 1943.
Box 1	Folder 16			Papers, 1944-1945 Jean Bemis to Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall, 1944; First Church items, 1944; Leverett Saltonstall to Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, 1944; "Three Great Waterfalls, essay by George Lewis III, 1945; Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis Red Cross certificate, 1945.
Box 1	Folder 17			Papers, 1946-1948 Winsor School play, 1946; Leverett Saltonstall to Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, 1946; Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall will, 1946; Bill Hunter to Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, 1946; Mass. Horticultural Society awards to Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, 1947; Leverett Saltonstall gift to Harvard, 1948; Joseph D. Leland to George Lewis, 1948.
Box 1	Folder 18			Papers, 1950-1952 Susan Saltonstall dance, 1950; First Church program, 1951; Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis medical correspondence, 1951; George Lewis memorial bookplate, 1952.
Box 1	Folder 19			Papers, 1952 Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, trip to France and Portugal: itineraries, travel notes, bills and receipts, ephemera, 1952.
Box 1	Folder 20			Papers, 1953-1955 Point-to-point meeting, 1953; Henry E. Bothfeld death, 1953; information re: paintings, 1955.
Box 1	Folder 21			Papers, 1961-1968 First Church, 1961; Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis class notes, 1961; Winsor School ephemera, 1961; Union Boat Club, 1963; Katherine Noonan letter, 1963; death of Lord Cranworth, 1964; Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis medical correspondence, 1965-68.
Box 1	Folder 22			Papers, 1970-1971 Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis medical correspondence, 1970; Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis reminiscences, 1971; Elizabeth Saltonstall exhibit, 1971.
Box 1	Folder 23			Papers, 1978 John Walsh to Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis re: Monet painting, 1978.
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			II. Eleanor (Brooks) Saltonstall, Travel Papers, 1896-1930 Travel notes, itineraries, calling cards, bills, correspondence, and ephemera of Eleanor (Brooks) Saltonstall from trips to Europe (1896), Italy (1906), South America (1925), Ireland (1928 and 1929), and Italy and France (1930).
Box 1	Folder 24			Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall travel papers, 1896-1926 Itineraries and travel notes from trips to Europe (1896), Italy (1906), South America (1925), and Italy & France (1930).
Box 1	Folder 25			Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall travel papers, 1928-1929 Itineraries, calling cards, bills, correspondence, notes, greeting cards, & ephemera concerning trips to Ireland in 1928 and 1929.
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Box 1	Folder 26		III. Eleanor (Brooks) Saltonstall, Death of, 1961 Materials on the death of Eleanor (Brooks) Saltonstall in 1961, including newspaper announcements and a typescript of her memorial service.
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			IV. Newspaper Clippings and Miscellaneous Printed Matter, 1907-1982 The newspaper clippings (1907-1982) are arranged chronologically and contain many clippings related to the political career of Leverett Saltonstall (1892-1979), brother of Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis. There are also clippings concerning other family members, friends, and society events. Other printed matter includes a folder of items related to Leverett Saltonstall, 1930s-1960s; and a folder of campaign literature for Levin H. Campbell, 1966.
Box 2	Folder 1-18			Newspaper clippings, chronological order, 1907-1982.
Box 2	Folder 19			Levin H. Campbell printed campaign literature, 1966.
Box 2	Folder 20			Leverett Saltonstall printed matter, 1930s-1960s.
Box 2	Folder 21-23			Misc. printed matter.
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			V. Volumes, 1866-1945 The volumes (1866-1945) were kept primarily by Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, and include address books, scrapbooks, Christmas lists, wedding lists, and diaries. The scrapbooks date from 1914 and 1915, and both contain mementos of social activities, including invitations, notes, guest lists, and calling cards. Her diaries include a travel diary for a voyage in 1913 to Italy; a three-year line-a-day diary for 1913-1915, which also includes the voyage to Italy; a cruise diary (1922) for a three-day cruise off the Maine coast; a volume of travel notes for voyages to Great Britain in 1923 and 1924; and line-a-day diaries for 1943-1945. There are also a bound passport (1866) and a bound ms. genealogy of Peter Chardon Brooks; a commonplace book of Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall (1874-79) a shared book of writings, Rainy Day Magazine (ca. 1908), of Eleanor "Nora" Saltonstall and Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, a "logbook" travel diary of Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall on a voyage to South America (1925), and a history notebook (1920) of Richard Saltonstall. Three oversize scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings and other printed matter about Leverett Saltonstall, 1934-1939.
Box 3		Vol. 1		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, address book, n.d.
Box 3		Vol. 2		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, address book, n.d.
Box 3		Vol. 3		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, address book, n.d.
Box 3		Vol. 4		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, address book, n.d.
Box 3		Vol. 5		Peter Chardon Brooks, passport, 1866.
Box 3		Vol. 6		Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall, commonplace book, 1874-1879.
Box 3		Vol. 7		Peter Chardon Brooks, "Brooks Genealogies," [1885] Bound ms. genealogy of the Brooks family
Box 3		Vol. 7a		Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall, "Wedding List," Sept. 1891. name/address book for wedding invitations
Box 3		Vol. 8		Eleanor "Nora" Saltonstall and Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, "Rainy Day Magazine," ca. 1908. Writings by the girls with clipped illustrations glued in
Box 3		Vol. 9		George Lewis II, address book, 1913?
Box 3		Vol. 10		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, school notebook, 1913.
Box 3		Vol. 11		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, travel diary, 28 Oct.-11 Nov. 1913. Travel from N.Y. in the S.S. Cincinnati for Naples, with photographs and postcards glued in. Arrival at Madeira on Nov. 5, Gibraltar on Nov. 7, and Naples on Nov. 10. Ends on Nov. 11 while still in Naples.
Box 4		Vol. 12		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, diary, 1 Jan. 1913-31 May 1915. Some gaps. Entries 28 Oct. 1913-9 June 1914 describe a voyage to Italy (see also vol. 11) and include travel in Italy, France, the Hague, Amsterdam, Brussels, London, and return in S.S. Caronia, arr. in Boston June 9.
Box 4		Vol. 13		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, scrapbook, 1914. Mementos from social activities, including invitations, notes, guest lists, and calling cards.
Box 4		Vol. 14		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, scrapbook, 1915. Mementos from social activities, including invitations, notes, guest lists, and calling cards.
Box 4		Vol. 15		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, Christmas lists, 1919-1924. Lists of gifts given and received.
Box 4		Vol. 16		Richard Saltonstall, history notebook, [1920]. Looseleaf notebook with notes on history lessons.
Box 4		Vol. 17		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, address book, 1920.
Box 4		Vol. 18		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, diary, 6-9 July 1922. Record of a cruise from North Haven to Buck's Harbor, Maine, in yawl Fish Hawk. Includes photographs (not part of Photo. Coll. 33).
Box 5		Vol. 19		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, travel notes, 1923, 1924. Notes on voyage 12 May-17 Aug. 1923 in S.S. Majestic to England and Scotland, and return in S.S. Aquitania, with lists of people met and places visited, but no diary entries. Notes on voyage 21 June-28 July 1924 in S.S. Homeric to Wales and England. Diary entries for July 7, 8, 10, 12, 16-28. Date of return not noted.
Box 5		Vol. 20		Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall, Log Book, 24 Jan.-29 Mar. 1925. Printed logbook completed in ms., "Cruise Round South America." Includes printed geography info. on S. America She traveled from N.Y. to Havana, Columbia, Panama Canal, Peru, Chile, Straits of Magellan, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Trinidad, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and return to N.Y.
Box 5		Vol. 21		Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall, travel diary, 23 Jan.-29 Mar. 1925, with daily entries covering the same voyage as above (vol. 20), in a smaller diary format.
Box 5		Vol. 22		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, Christmas lists, 1925-1931. Lists of gifts given and received.
Box 5		Vol. 23		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, wedding list, 1926. Address book for wedding invitations.
Box 5		Vol. 24		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, wedding lists, 1926. Two-vol. index of wedding guest list.
Box 5		Vol. 25		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, diary, 1943. Line-a-day diary. Weather, daily activities, charitable work, news of children and relatives.
Box 5		Vol. 26		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, diary, 1944. Line-a-day diary. Weather, daily activities, charitable work, news of children and relatives.
Box 5		Vol. 27		Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis, diary, 1945. Line-a-day diary. Weather, daily activities, charitable work, news of children and relatives.
		OS Vol. 1		Leverett Saltonstall, newspaper clippings and other printed matter, 1934-1938.
		OS Vol. 2		Leverett Saltonstall, newspaper clippings and other printed matter, Oct. 1938-Jan. 1939.
		OS Vol. 3		Leverett Saltonstall, newspaper clippings and other printed matter, Jan.-Feb. 1939.
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Oversize box			Oversize materials Town of Sherborn, Plan of Town Forest Land, 1950; blueprints; drawings of cars; certificates to Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall Lewis and Eleanor Brooks Saltonstall, for crossing the arctic circle (1968) and the equator (1925); printed proclamations of Leverett Saltonstall; fragment of 1866 map of Sherborn; map of Dover riding and walking trails, 1965; watercolor of St. Peters in Rome.

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Preferred Citation

Saltonstall-Brooks-Lewis family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

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Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.


	Persons:
		Brooks, Peter Chardon, 1831-1920.
		Brooks, Sarah Lawrence, 1845-1915.
		Brooks family--Genealogy.
		Campbell, Eleanor Lewis, 1928- .
		Campbell, Levin H., 1927- .
		Lewis, George, 1931- .
		Lewis, Muriel Gurdon Saltonstall, 1896-1990.
		Saltonstall, Eleanor, 1894-1919.
		Saltonstall, Eleanor Brooks, 1867-1961.
		Saltonstall, Richard, 1897-1979.


	Subjects:
		Family history--1900-1949.
		Politicians--Massachusetts.
		Scrapbooks--1934-1939.
		Women travelers.

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Photographs Removed from the Collection

Photographs from this collection have been removed to the Saltonstall-Brooks-Lewis family photographs, ca. 1840-1946. Photo. Coll. 33.

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http://www.masshist.org/findingaids/doc.cfm?fa=fa0049
Send reference questions to library@masshist.org.

Collection processed by Kathy Griffin, 2002.
Revised 2 Nov. 2005
Encoded by Michael Rush, April 2004