David Richards Family Papers 1855-1927 Guide to the Collection

Table of Contents Collection Summary Biographical Sketch Collection Description Related Materials Organization Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms Materials Removed

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketch

David Jay Richards (1850- ca. 1927), was born in Steuben, New York to Benjamin and Ann Richards. He attended Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham, Mass. from 1868 to 1871, and Harvard College from 1872 to 1876. After graduation he became a classics high school teacher at Maynard and Westfield Public High Schools from 1880 to 1882. In 1882 David started his first farm venture near the Nantahala River in Macon County, North Carolina. In 1888 he bought his farm in Sherborn, Massachusetts and lived there beginning in 1890. He also owned a farm in Gilmantown, New Hampshire. Besides his farming business, David also was involved in farm loans, working with his mother-in-law Hannah K. Loring’s “Loring Loan” business, mainly in the Dakotas, and in 1916 working independently in Oklahoma. David married Esther (Etta) Coffin Loring in 1878 and they had two children, Augustus Loring Richards (1879-1951) and Esther Loring Richards (1885-1956).

Esther Coffin Loring (1850-1921), known as Etta, was the daughter of John S. Loring (1820-1879) and Hannah K. Loring (d. 1898). She attended Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham, Mass. From 1907 to 1908, and from approximately 1915 to 1918, Etta had mental and physical health problems. Etta resided at Ring’s Sanatorium in Arlington Heights. Mass. from December 1907 to January 1908 and at Adams Nervine in Jamaica Plain, Mass. from January to approximately June 1908. Etta married David Jay Richards in 1878 and they had two children, Augustus Loring Richards (1879-1951) and Esther Loring Richards (1885-1956).

Augustus Loring Richards (1879-1951), was the son of David Jay Richards (1850- ca. 1927) and Esther Coffin Loring (Etta) (1850-1921). He attended Boy’s Latin School from 1894 to 1897, Harvard College from 1899 to 1903, and Harvard Law School from 1903 to 1906. He worked at the law firm of Hughes, Rounds, and Shurman in New York City, New York. He lived in New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut, and in 1924 moved to a farm in Remsen, New York. In 1908 he married Lillian Coughlan Brown, and they had two children, Robert and Richard. Around 1922, Augustus separated from Lillian and lived with his children and his second wife Alice.

Esther Loring Richards (1885-1956), was born in Holliston, Mass. to David Jay Richards (1850- ca. 1927) and Esther (Etta) Coffin Loring (1850-1921). She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1910 and was a student at the medical department at the University of Wisconsin Madison from 1910 to 1913. She received her M.D. in 1915 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She then joined the psychiatry faculty of the School of Medicine and the staff of the Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic in Baltimore, Maryland. She also lectured at various universities and societies, and consulted for Butler Hospital in Rhode Island and the Training School at Vineland, New Jersey. Esther never married and died in 1956.

Collection Description

The David Richards family papers date from 1855 to 1927 and are divided into six series: correspondence, personal papers, David Richards financial papers, legal papers, printed material, and the John Loring account book.

The collection centers around David Richards, his wife Esther (Etta) Loring Richards, and their children Augustus Richard and Esther Richards. Correspondence among them includes courtship letters between David and Etta, discussion of family matters, and accounts of Augustus’ law practice and Esther’s employment as a psychiatrist at Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic. Esther writes in detail about her education at Mount Holyoke College, the University of Wisconsin Madison, and Johns Hopkins University, while Augustus writes about his time at Harvard College and Law School. The correspondence series also contains personal correspondence, including letters to and from extended family such as David’s brothers, courtship letters to Augustus, letters to and from old classmates and friends, and correspondence with doctors involved with Etta’s mental and physical health.

Personal papers are primarily related to education, especially David’s education at Wesleyan Academy and Harvard College, from which there are many essays. Also in this series are report cards and exam pages from Augustus’ and Esther’s schooling. Personal papers also include Etta’s instructions on crocheting lace, David’s pocket diaries, and his account of Etta’s mental health history. David’s financial records include household, business, educational, and medical receipts, correspondence about David’s farms in North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and materials related to the farm loan business he conducted with his mother-in-law Hannah K. Loring, known as “Loring Loan.” David’s land transactions in Macon County, North Carolina are a frequent topic in the correspondence.

Legal papers include documents such as wills and mortgages, and records related to the trial(s) of Esther Richards vs. Edward W. Loring over Hannah K. Loring’s will. These records include correspondence, trial exhibits, trial notes and memos, and court documents. Printed material is primarily related to education at Wesleyan Academy, Wesleyan University, Harvard College, and Harvard Law School, including newspapers, exams, and pamphlets on school and extracurricular clubs.

The John S. Loring account book contains the accounting of the bark “Etta Loring” on its journeys to such ports as Yokohama, Cape Town, and Melbourne.

Related Materials

Augustus Loring Richards' papers may also be found at the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.

Esther L. Richards' papers may also be found at The Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives of The John Hopkins Medical Institutions.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

David Richards family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

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.

Materials Removed from the Collection

Crocheted lace and related materials of Etta Richards removed from the collection.