COLLECTION GUIDES

1837-1976; bulk: 1874-1945

Guide to the Collection

Restrictions on Access

The Merriman family papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.


Collection Summary

Abstract

This collection contains the papers of the Merriman family. The bulk of the material is from Roger Bigelow Merriman and his wife Dorothea Foote Merriman. Other material relates to extended Merriman, Bigelow, and Foote family members. Included in the collection is correspondence, personal and professional papers, financial records, diaries, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, writings, speeches, poetry, student work, and historical and genealogical research.

Biographical Sketches

Roger Bigelow Merriman (1876-1945) was born on 24 May 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts, to Daniel Merriman and Helen Bigelow Merriman. He was raised mostly in Worcester, Massachusetts, where his father was pastor at Central Congregational Church. He attended Noble and Greenough before attending Harvard University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree in 1896 and his Master of Arts (A.M.) degree in 1897. He then attended Balliol College at the University of Oxford (1897-1899), followed by Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin (1900-1901), after which Merriman taught for a time in Europe as the John Harvard Fellow. He returned to Harvard and received his Ph.D. in 1902. That same year, he was appointed a part-time faculty member and taught various history courses before becoming a full-time professor in 1908, later holding the position of Gurney Professor of History and Political Science. Known as "Frisky" to colleagues and students, Merriman taught the popular survey course History I for nearly 20 years. He also taught introductory courses to European history, as well as Spanish history, the Tudor and Stuart periods of English history, and the European Renaissance. He served as the first master of Harvard's Eliot House from 1931-1942 and played a large role in establishing the Harvard residential house system based on models from the University of Oxford and Cambridge University in England.

Other positions held by Roger Bigelow Merriman include the James Hazeh Hyde Lecturer to the Provincial Universities in France (1914), Harvard Exchange Professor at the Sorbonne (1925-1926), and the David Murray Lecturer at Glasgow University (1937). He was also given honorary degrees in D.Litt. from Oxford (1922), LL.D. from Glasgow University (1929), Litt.D. from Cambridge University (1935), and L.H.D. from Hobart College (1942). He was also a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Academia de la Historia in Madrid, and the Athenaeum in London; served as Senior Warden of King's Chapel in Boston; and was a chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur, among others. During World War I, he was commissioned captain in the Ordnance Department, then appointed as aide-de-camp to Major Gen. William S. Graves in the American Expeditionary Forces, Siberia. After returning to the United States, he was assigned to the Military Intelligence Division before being discharged (May-December 1918).

Outside his career as a professor at Harvard, Merriman was also a well-known lecturer, speaker, and published author within academia and the history field. He wrote The Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell (1902); The Annals of the Emperor Charles V, with the original by Francisco Lopez de Gomara and translated and edited by Merriman (1913); The Rise of the Spanish Empire, vol. I-II (1918), vol. III (1925), vol. IV (1934); and Suleiman the Magnificent 1520-1566 (1944), as well as numerous articles.

He married Dorothea Foote (1880-1970) in June 1904. Roger Bigelow Merriman died at his summer vacation home in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, on 7 September 1945.

Dorothea Foote Merriman (1880-1970) was born on 3 November 1880 in Boston to Rev. Henry Wilder Foote (1838-1889) and Frances Anne Eliot Foote (1838-1896). Her father was the minister of King's Chapel in Boston from 1861 to 1889. Her siblings were Rev. Henry Wilder Foote and Frances Eliot Foote Cornish. She became engaged in June 1903 to Roger Bigelow Merriman, and they married the following year in 1904. Roger and Dorothea had five children: Roger Bigelow Merriman, Jr. (1905-1994), Daniel Merriman (1908-1984), Frances Eliot Merriman (1913-1917), Dorothea Foote Merriman (1916-2001), and Helen Prudence Merriman (1920-2008). Dorothea was a founder of the Friends of Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and served as its first president. She was also president of the Women's Alliance, Kings Chapel chapter. Dorothea Foote Merriman died at her home at 175 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 24 December 1970.

Daniel Merriman (1838-1912) was born on 3 December 1838 in Manchester, Vermont, to Addison Merriman and Prudence Adams Merriman. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree (1863), Master of Arts degree (1866), and honorary Ph.D. (1881) from Williams College. He also graduated from Andover Theological Seminary in 1868, after which he was ordained as a Congregational pastor on 30 September 1868. During the Civil War, Merriman enlisted in the 132nd Illinois Regiment, serving as a first lieutenant and then adjutant (June-October 1864). After the war, he was pastor of Broadway Church in Norwich, Connecticut (1868-1875), followed by Central Congregational Church in Worcester, Massachusetts (1878-1901).

He was involved in numerous organizations, serving as a trustee of Williams College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Atlanta University, and Abbot Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, as well as being a member of numerous organizations. He was one of the founders of the Worcester Art Museum and was elected as its first president when the museum officially opened in 1898. Merriman traveled extensively and collected art and antiques, many of which were donated to the museum. He would also occasionally publish sermons and contribute articles to several publications. He married Helen Bigelow on 1 September 1974 at St. Anne's Church, Kew, in Surrey, England. The couple returned to the United States, where they raised their son Roger Bigelow Merriman. Daniel Merriman died on 18 September 1912 at Stonehurst, his summer estate, in North Conway, New Hampshire.

Helen Bigelow Merriman (1844-1933) was born on 14 July 1844 to Erastus Brigham Bigelow and Eliza Frances Means Bigelow in Boston, where she was also educated, as well as frequently visiting England and Europe for her father's business dealings. She was an artist and author, contributing to numerous publications. Her published works include What Shall Make Us Whole? Or, Thoughts in the Direction of Man's Spiritual and Physical Integrity (1888), The Perfect Lord (1891), Concerning Portraits and Portraiture (1891), Religio Pictoris (1899), and articles in the Andover Review, which included "The English Pre-Raphaelite and Political School of Painters" (1884) and "Some Philosophical Aspects of the School of 1830" (1891). She was one of the founders of the Worcester Art Museum, serving as a trustee, exhibiting items from her own personal collection, and giving lectures. She traveled extensively with her husband throughout Europe, where they acquired artwork and antiques, some of which were later donated to the museum. She also gave land and money to start Memorial Hospital in North Conway, New Hampshire, and was involved with the North Conway Public Library.

She married Daniel Merriman on 1 September 1874 at St. Anne's Church, Kew, in Surrey, England, while they were both traveling and staying in England. Together they had one child, Roger Bigelow Merriman, whom they raised primarily in Worcester, Massachusetts, where Daniel was pastor of the Central Congregational Church. Helen Bigelow Merriman died at her estate called Stonehurst in North Conway, New Hampshire, on 25 July 1933.

Erastus Brigham Bigelow (1814-1879) was born on 2 April 1814 in West Boylston, Massachusetts, to Ephraim Bigelow (1791-1837) and Polly Brigham Bigelow (1794-1855). He did not receive a formal education as a child, but had a number of business endeavors while still young that included publishing a book on stenography, as well as inventing a handloom for suspender webbing, a machine to manufacture piping cord, a loom for waving counterpanes which he patented, and a machine for weaving coach-lace. He also invented the power loom for ingrain carpets and later a power loom for weaving Brussels tapestry and velvet tapestry carpets. Through the power loom, Bigelow became a successful and prosperous businessman. He established the Bigelow Carpet Company and helped found the town of Clinton, Massachusetts, with his brother Horatio Nelson Bigelow, which was the location of several mills that produced lace and carpets and the location of the Bigelow Carpet Company. Bigelow was also a founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as being involved in numerous organizations. Around 1870, he began purchasing land in North Conway that would become the Bigelow-Merriman family estate, where their summer home Stonehurst was located, eventually accumulating 250 acres between Intervale and North Conway.

He married first in 1838 to Susan King (1818-1841) and second in 1843 to Eliza Frances Means (1823-1888), the daughter of David McGregor Means and Catherine Atherton Means of Amherst, New Hampshire. They had one child, Helen Bigelow. Erastus Bigelow Brigham died on 6 December 1879 in Boston.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Helen Merriman Fernald, Daniel Merriman, Roger Merriman, Jr., and Dorothea Merriman Sims, November 1971.

Restrictions on Access

The Merriman family papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.

Collection Description

The Merriman family papers consist of 14 record cartons, 1 manuscript box, and 2 oversize boxes of manuscripts, printed material, and 21 volumes. They document the Merriman family and their extended families mainly from 1874-1945. The bulk of the collection pertains to Roger Bigelow Merriman and Dorothea Foote Merriman.

Roger Bigelow Merriman's papers consist of correspondence, personal and professional papers, and biographical material compiled after his death. Correspondence (1890-1945) covers his time as a student at Harvard University, University of Oxford, and Friedrich Wilhelm University; his career as a professor and as master of Eliot House at Harvard; a published author; and as a lecturer and speaker. Correspondents include family; friends; acquaintances; classmates; colleagues at Harvard and educational institutions across the U.S. and Europe; peers within the academic and history fields throughout the U.S., England, France, and Spain; and students, advisees, and Eliot House residents from Harvard. His professional papers (1890-1945) contain material pertaining to his education at Harvard, Oxford, and Friedrich Wilhelm University; his career as a history professor at Harvard, as well as the master of the school's Eliot House; his work as a published author with works on the Spanish empire, Emperor Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent, and numerous articles; speeches and lectures given in the U.S. and England; and his services in World War I with the American Expeditionary Forces, Siberia. His personal papers (1890-1962) contain material pertaining to his social activities, honors, memberships, personal property, and biographical material.

Dorothea Foote Merriman's papers consist of correspondence and personal and professional papers. Correspondence (1899-1976) covers her daily life, her support of her husband in his career, travel, and her involvement with Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and the Unitarian Church. Correspondents include family, friends, and acquaintances through her personal interests, as well as her husband's work. Her personal (1903-1963) and professional (1933-1969) papers cover her daily life, her role as hostess, running a household, and involvement with numerous organizations to which she belonged, including the Friends of Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and the Unitarian Church.

The papers of Helen Bigelow Merriman consist of correspondence (1851-1929) and personal papers (1869-1934) and contain material relating to her travels in Europe, art collecting, and books and articles she wrote. Correspondents include numerous well-known people from within the art, psychology, and education fields. Daniel Merriman's papers consist of correspondence, personal papers, and financial records. They contain material relating to genealogy and family research, travel, and art collecting. Correspondents include extended family, friends, and acquaintances within the religious and education fields. Erastus Brigham Bigelow's papers (1837-1879) consist of correspondence and professional papers mainly regarding his carpet business and loom patents.

The collection also contains papers from Eliza Frances Means Bigelow, Roger Bigelow Merriman, Jr., Frances Eliot Merriman, Daniel Merriman (1908-1984), Dorothea Foote Merriman Sims, Helen Prudence Merriman Fernald, Henry Wilder Foote (1875-1964), and other extended Merriman and Foote family members. Material consists of correspondence, published works, news articles, social events, and genealogy.

Detailed Description of the Collection

I. Roger Bigelow Merriman papers, 1890-1962

Arranged chronologically within each series and subseries.

This series contains the correspondence and personal and professional papers of Roger Bigelow Merriman during his years as a student at Harvard University, Balliol College at the University of Oxford, and Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin; his tenure as a professor at Harvard; and his career as a professional historian.

A. Correspondence, 1890-1945

Roger Bigelow Merriman's correspondence consists of letters between Merriman and his family, including his wife Dorothea Foote Merriman and their children; parents Daniel Merriman and Helen Bigelow Merriman; members of his extended Merriman, Adams, Means, Noyes, Upham, Foote, Nourse, and Cleaveland families; numerous local friends, including those in Worcester and North Conway, New Hampshire; numerous international friends, acquaintances, classmates, students, and Harvard colleagues; and peers in the academic and history fields at universities and institutions throughout the United States and in England, France, and Spain. Letters discuss his family life and career achievements as he advanced in Harvard's history department, served as master of Eliot House at Harvard, and became a published historian and noted speaker and lecturer. Also included are letters discussing family history and genealogy.

Other correspondents include Mabel Carleton Gage, Elizabeth Bancroft Cheever, Ellen Blake, Louisa Blake, Lucy Walker, Evelyn Walker, Alexander Hamilton Bullock, Jr., Joseph Linville Binfield, Roscoe James Binfield, Merrick Lincoln, Ernest Berkley Balch, Vernon Munroe, Haven Emerson, Archibald Cary Coolidge, Julian Lowell Coolidge, Harold Jefferson Coolidge, Sir George Walter Prothero, Raymond Herbert Asquith, William James, Henry James (1843-1916), Henry James (1879-1947), James Fitzmaurice-Kelly, James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce, Harold Temperley, Theodore Roosevelt, Edward Armstrong, Abbott Lawrence Lowell, Roger Wolcott, Edith Prescott Wolcott, George Macaulay Trevelyan, Isabel Foulché-Delbosc, Gaillard Lapsley, Garrett Mattingly, Sir Philip Wilbraham Baker Wilbraham, 6th Baronet, Delmar Leighton, Robert Chamberlain, Conyers Read, Harris Harbison, John Milton Potter, Dexter Perkins, Robert Rait, Francis Fortescue Urquhart, Cyril Bailey, Alexander Dunlop Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker (Sandie Lindsay), Wilbur Kitchener Jordan, Frank D. Ashburn, Harley Granville-Barker, E. Allison Peers, George Peabody Gooch, Frederick Merk, and John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, George Harold Edgell, George Lyman Paine, Martin Grabau, and Sarah Wyman Whitman.

For more material relating to Merriman family history and genealogy see Daniel Merriman correspondence in series IV.A. and Merriman family papers genealogy in series VI.B.

Carton 1SH 14XN K

1890-February 1936

Carton 2Folder 1-50SH 14X5 2

March 1936-October 1945, undated

Carton 2Folder 51-61SH 14X5 2

Helen Bigelow Merriman, 1891-1914, undated

Carton 3Folder 1-11SH 14X8 5

Daniel Merriman (1838-1912), 1891-1911

Carton 3Folder 12SH 14X8 5

Extended family, 1891-1935, undated

Carton 3Folder 13SH 14X8 5

Merriman children, 1926-1945

B. Professional papers, 1890-1945

The professional papers of Roger Bigelow Merriman consist of material pertaining to his time as a student at Harvard University, Balliol College at University of Oxford, and Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin, as well as his professional career as a professor at Harvard and a historian. This includes materials related to courses Merriman taught, students he advised, history department staff he oversaw, committees he served on, and speeches and writings he did for Harvard, as well as material related to his published works, speeches, writings, and lectures as an historian. Also included are documents pertaining to his service as a captain in the American Expeditionary Forces in Siberia during World War I.

i. Book publications, 1901-1945

Carton 3Folder 14SH 14X8 5

Printing agreement, 1901, 1910

Carton 3Folder 15SH 14X8 5

Reviews—The Annals of the Emperor Charles V by Francisco Lopez de Gomara, 1913

Carton 3Folder 16-18SH 14X8 5

Reviews—The Rise of the Spanish Empire , Vols. I and II, 1918-1919

Carton 3Folder 19SH 14X8 5

Reviews—The Rise of the Spanish Empire , Vol. III, 1925-1926

Carton 3Folder 20SH 14X8 5

Reviews—The Rise of the Spanish Empire , Vol. IV, 1934-1935

Carton 3Folder 21SH 14X8 5

Reviews—Suleiman the Magnificent, 1520-1580, 1944-1945

Carton 3Folder 22SH 14X8 5

The MacMillan Company financial statements, 1918-1935

Carton 3Folder 23SH 14X8 5

Miscellaneous, ca. 1918, 1930-1935

Carton 3Folder 24SH 14X8 5

Research—Spanish bibliography, ca. 1914-1916

Carton 3Folder 25SH 14X8 5

Research—Spanish history resources, 1926, undated

Carton 3Folder 26Vol. 1SH 14X8 5

Research—Philip II (Bodleian Library, Oxford University), May 1926

Carton 3Folder 27Vol. 2SH 14X8 5

Research—British history resources, 1926, undated

Carton 3Folder 28-29SH 14X8 5

Research—Finances of Philip II notes, 1929, undated

Carton 3Folder 30SH 14X8 5

Research—"El papel conde Duque Olivares," Egerton MS 338 p. 22944 [photocopy and transcript], undated

Carton 3Folder 31SH 14X8 5

Research—"Carta del Almirante de Castilla al Senor Emperador Carlos V. Escripta al año de 1523" [transcript], undated

Carton 3Folder 32SH 14X8 5

Research—El Conde de Lemos in Naples notes, undated

Carton 3Folder 33SH 14X8 5

Research—Notes, 1930, undated

ii. Speeches, writings, and lectures, 1902-1945

Carton 3Folder 34SH 14X8 5

Reviews by Roger Bigelow Merriman, 1902, 1936-1941, undated

Carton 3Folder 35SH 14X8 5

"Some Notes on the Treatment of the English Catholics in the Reign of Elizabeth I," American Historical Review, vol. XIII No. 3 [reprint], April 1908

Carton 3Folder 36SH 14X8 5

"The Monroe Doctrine," The Political Quarterly, No. 7 [reprint], June 1915

Carton 3Folder 37SH 14X8 5

"A Day at the French Front," The Harvard Graduates' Magazine, September 1915

Carton 3Folder 38SH 14X8 5

Lecture, Oxford University, May 1926

Carton 3Folder 39SH 14X8 5

Obituaries by Roger Bigelow Merriman, 1928-1945

Carton 3Folder 40SH 14X8 5

Sermon, Appleton Chapel, Harvard University, 21 September 1929

Carton 3Folder 41SH 14X8 5

"The Spanish Embassy in Tudor England," Massachusetts Historical Society, March 1935

Carton 3Folder 42SH 14X8 5

Lecture, Springfield Public Forum, 11 April 1935

Carton 3Folder 43SH 14X8 5

"The Empires of Spain and Portugal," Hartford Lecture Series, 11 March 1937

Carton 3Folder 44SH 14X8 5

"Six Contemporaneous Revolutions," 1937

Carton 3Folder 45SH 14X8 5

"Spain in North Africa: Cardinal Ximenes," University of London lecture series, May 1939

Carton 3Folder 46SH 14X8 5

"The Spanish Viceroy in the New World: Francisco Alvarezde Toledo," University of London lecture series, May 1939

Carton 3Folder 47SH 14X8 5

"The Palace of Spain in the Spanish Empire," University of London lecture series, May 1939

Carton 4Folder 1SH 14XC 9

Speech, Millbrook School, 12 January 1941

Carton 4Folder 2SH 14XC 9

Radio broadcast to Oxford and Cambridge Universities, 23 January 1941

Carton 4Folder 2aSH 14XC 9

Article on Azores, Cape Verde, Canaries, etc., 16 May 1941

Carton 4Folder 3SH 14XC 9

Radio broadcast on WRUL, 14 October 1941

Carton 4Folder 4SH 14XC 9

"Japanese during WWI" radio broadcast on Crimson Shortwave Network, December 1941

Carton 4Folder 5SH 14XC 9

Speech at annual dinner of St. George's Society, New York, 23 April 1942

Carton 4Folder 6SH 14XC 9

Reviews by Roger Bigelow Merriman, 1923-1943

Carton 4Folder 7SH 14XC 9

"An Historian Looks at the Young Entry," The Atlantic, vol. 176, no. 4, October 1945

Carton 4Folder 8SH 14XC 9

"The Problem of Permanent Appointments in History and Literature," ca. 1940s

Carton 4Folder 9SH 14XC 9

"A Retrospect and a Prospect or Lest We Forget," ca. 1940s

Carton 4Folder 10SH 14XC 9

"Another Contemporary Historian of Charles V," undated

Carton 4Folder 11SH 14XC 9

On Theodore Roosevelt, undated

Carton 4Folder 12SH 14XC 9

Bibliography of Roger Bigelow Merriman, undated

iii. Harvard University, 1890-1947

Carton 4Folder 13SH 14XC 9

Course admission, mid-year, and final exams, 1890-1897

Carton 4Folder 14SH 14XC 9

Roger Bigelow Merriman student records, 1890-1910

Carton 4Folder 15SH 14XC 9

Class of 1896, 1896-1946

Oversize Box 1Folder 1SH 1BDY

Bachelor of the Arts (A.B.) degree, 14 June 1896

Oversize Box 1Folder 1SH 1BDY

Master of the Arts (A.M) degree, 30 June 1897

Oversize Box 1Folder 1SH 1BDY

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in History degree, 25 June 1902

Carton 4Folder 16SH 14XC 9

Teaching appointments, 1902-1918

Carton 4Folder 17SH 14XC 9

Administrative papers, 1916, 1937-1942

Carton 4Folder 18SH 14XC 9

Miscellaneous, 1917-1940

Carton 4Folder 19-23SH 14XC 9

Committee on Regulation of Athletic Sport, 1919

Carton 4Folder 24SH 14XC 9

Speeches and writings, 1926-1943

Carton 4Folder 25SH 14XC 9

Freshman advisees, 1931-1942

Carton 4Folder 26SH 14XC 9

History I directories, 1931-1941

Carton 4Folder 27SH 14XC 9

History department staff, 1932-1941

Oversize Box 1Folder 2SH 1BDY

Certificate from Eliot House, ca. 1932

Carton 4Folder 28SH 14XC 9

Select student material, 1933-1934

Carton 4Folder 29SH 14XC 9

History 40 (History II) course, 1934-1941

Carton 4Folder 30SH 14XC 9

History I course, 1935, 1941

Carton 4Folder 31SH 14XC 9

History 48 course, 1939-1942

Carton 4Folder 32SH 14XC 9

History 30 course, 1941-1942

Carton 4Folder 33SH 14XC 9

'96 Dinner Club, 1933-1939

Carton 4Folder 34SH 14XC 9

Roarin' Forties Dinner Club, 1937-1947

Carton 4Folder 35SH 14XC 9

Board of Freshman Advisers, 1937-1939

Carton 4Folder 36SH 14XC 9

The House Plan, 1943, undated

Oversize Box 1Folder 2SH 1BDY

Commemorative plate inscription text, undated

iv. Balliol College, University of Oxford, 1898-1934

Carton 4Folder 37SH 14XC 9

1898-1934

Carton 4Folder 38Vol. 3SH 14XC 9

The Balliol College Register, 1833-1933, 2nd ed., 1934

v. Friedrich Wilhelm University, Berlin, 1900-1901

Oversize Box 1Folder 1SH 1BDY

Enrollment certificate, 1900

Carton 4Folder 39SH 14XC 9

Census and certificate, 1900

Carton 4Folder 40Vol. 4SH 14XC 9

General German History, Prof. Max Lenz, course notes, 1900-1901

Carton 4Folder 41Vol. 5SH 14XC 9

Ancient Church, Prof. Adolf von Harnack, course notes, 1900-1901

vi. World War I, 1914-1948

Correspondence in this subseries includes letters from Japanese General Otani Nakajima and memoranda from Major General William S. Graves.

Carton 4Folder 42SH 14XC 9

Enlistment records, 1917-1918

Carton 4Folder 43SH 14XC 9

Memoranda, April-December 1918

Carton 4Folder 44SH 14XC 9

Trench warfare and ordnance material, May-September 1918

Carton 4Folder 45SH 14XC 9

Correspondence, June 1918, September 1918

Carton 4Folder 46SH 14XC 9

Diary excerpt, 2-5 September 1918

Carton 4Folder 47SH 14XC 9

Communiques, 11-12 September 1918

Carton 4Folder 48SH 14XC 9

Committee on Information, 18 September 1918

Carton 4Folder 49SH 14XC 9

General courts-martial, September-October 1918

Carton 4Folder 50SH 14XC 9

Orders and proclamations, September 1918

Carton 4Folder 51Vol. 6SH 14XC 9

Diary, 9-12 September 1918

Carton 4Folder 52SH 14XC 9

Reports by Roger Bigelow Merriman, October-December 1918

Carton 4Folder 53SH 14XC 9

Notes, 1918

Carton 5Folder 1SH 14XA 7

Ordnance notes, 1918

Carton 5Folder 2Vol. 7SH 14XA 7

Dans La Mêlée! Souvenirs de Guerre by Leon Miot, 1917

Carton 6Vol. 8SH 14XF C

Scrapbook, July 1914-January 1915

Carton 6Vol. 9SH 14XF C

Scrapbook, January-April 1915

Carton 7Vol. 10SH 14XG D

Scrapbook, Paris, February-April 1915

Carton 7Vol. 11SH 14XG D

Scrapbook, April-November 1915

Carton 8Vol. 12SH 14XH E

Scrapbook, November 1915-April 1917

Carton 8Vol. 13SH 14XH E

Scrapbook, 1917

C. Personal papers, 1890-1962

The personal papers of Roger Bigelow Merriman include poetry and verse mostly written to or about Merriman; honors bestowed for personal and professional achievements, including honorary degrees, invitations, and programs to events in the U.S. and Europe; personal and professional memberships; inventories and estimates for real estate and personal property for his home at 175 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Stonehurst, the family estate in Intervale and North Conway, New Hampshire; and biographical material, which includes contributions written by numerous friends and colleagues of their memories of Merriman following his death.

Carton 5Folder 3SH 14XA 7

1904-1945, undated

Carton 5Folder 4SH 14XA 7

Poetry and verse, 1890-1910, 1937, undated

Carton 5Folder 5SH 14XA 7

Honors, 1891-1942

Oversize Box 1Folder 1SH 1BDY

Honors—University of Oxford Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) candidacy certificate, 1 December 1922

Oversize Box 1Folder 2SH 1BDY

Honors—Exeter Chapter, Cum Laude Society, Phillips Exeter Academy fellowship certificate, 28 February 1927

Oversize Box 1Folder 2SH 1BDY

Honors—Glasgow University, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree, 12 June 1929

Oversize Box 1Folder 1SH 1BDY

Honors—Hobart College, Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree, 1942

Oversize Box 1Folder 2SH 1BDY

Honors—Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor certificate, 29 September 1936

Carton 5Folder 6-14SH 14XA 7

Newspaper clippings [copies], 1890s-1940s, undated

Carton 5Folder 15SH 14XA 7

Financial records, 1904, 1918, 1929, 1942

Carton 5Folder 16-21SH 14XA 7

Invitations and programs, 1907-1942

Oversize Box 1Folder 3SH 1BDY

Invitations and programs—University of Oxford convocation and encaenia programs, 1907, 1929

Carton 5Folder 22SH 14XA 7

Account of French front, 1914

Carton 5Folder 23SH 14XA 7

Memberships, 1917, 1937-1945, undated

Oversize Box 1Folder 2SH 1BDY

Memberships—Massachusetts Historical Society certificate, 11 February 1904

Oversize Box 1Folder 2SH 1BDY

Memberships—Hispanic Society of America certificates, 1909, 1924, 1945

Oversize Box 1Folder 2SH 1BDY

Memberships—Real Academia de la Historia certificate, 11 Nov. 1922

Carton 5Folder 24SH 14XA 7

Travel ephemera, ca. 1910s-1930s

Carton 5Folder 25SH 14XA 7

Real estate and property, 1934, undated

Carton 5Folder 26Vol. 14SH 14XA 7

Real estate and property—Hemlocks, Kimball Island, Squam Lake, New Hampshire, guestbook, 1910-1928

Box 1Vol. 15SH 1BDY

Real estate and property—175 Brattle St., Cambridge, Massachusetts, inventory, undated

Carton 5Folder 27SH 14XA 7

World War II related material, 1940, undated

Carton 5Folder 28SH 14XA 7

Obituaries [transcripts], 1945-1946

Carton 5Folder 29SH 14XA 7

Funeral, 12 September 1945

Carton 5Folder 30-31SH 14XA 7

Biography—Notes, 1946-1947

Carton 5Folder 32SH 14XA 7

Biography—Notes by George W. Robinson, 1947

Carton 5Folder 33SH 14XA 7

Biography—Notes by Theodore Spencer, ca. 1946-1947

Carton 5Folder 34-35SH 14XA 7

Biography—Recollections of Roger Bigelow Merriman, 1946

Carton 5Folder 36SH 14XA 7

Biography—"The Historian of the Spanish Empire," professional biography, 30 June 1947

Carton 5Folder 37SH 14XA 7

Memorials, 1946, 1962, undated

Carton 5Folder 38SH 14XA 7

Notes and memoranda, undated

II. Dorothea Foote Merriman papers, 1899-1976

Arranged chronologically.

A. Correspondence, 1899-1976

Dorothea Foote Merriman's correspondence consists of letters between Dorothea and her husband Roger Bigelow Merriman and their children; in-laws Daniel Merriman and Helen Bigelow Merriman; brother Henry Wilder Foote; sister Frances Eliot Foote Cornish; extended Eliot, Means, Bigelow families, and friends and acquaintances met through her personal interests and work at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, as well as through her husband's work, travel, and her role supporting Roger as master of Eliot House at Harvard. Letters discuss daily life, Roger's professional achievements, travel and hosting arrangements, and her professional work. Correspondents include friends, colleagues, and students of Roger Bigelow Merriman, as well as friends and acquaintances of Dorothea's from throughout the U.S., England, and France.

Other correspondents include Annie Oakes Huntington, Eliza Orne White, Mary Wilder Foote Tileston, John Gorham Palfrey, Horace Howard Furness, Edgar Huidekoper, H. Morse Stephens, Robert Wolcott, Henry James (1843-1916), Henry James (1879-1947), Conyers Read, Lady Elizabeth Marion Bryce, Mary Venables, Angela Mary Kay-Shuttleworth James, Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth, Amy E. Jervois, Mary Frances Butcher Prothero, Georgeanna Hopkins Musgrave, Violet Birch-Reynardson, Irene Pelham, Theresa Coolidge, Gaillard Lapsley, Susan Charlotte Buchan, Baroness Tweedsmuir, George Russell Agassiz, Bernadotte Everly Schmitt, Robert Dudley French, Kathleen Wylie, Vere Gordon Childe, Joseph Bottkol, Harumichi Yatsuhashi, Eleanor Mabel Sarton, Elizabeth Sedgwick Crafts, Reginald Ruggles Gates, Ralph Barton Perry, Julian Lowell Coolidge, George Harold Edgell, George Macaulay Trevelyan, Sir Philip Wilbraham Baker Wilbraham, 6th Baronet, Frederick Merk, Kermit Roosevelt, Julia Gardner Coolidge Richards, Caroline Cope Lewis, Norbert A. Wilhelm, Robert Cutler, George Lyman Paine, Constance Savage Keith Lowell, Mary Lyman Bullard Day, Theodore Spencer, Martin Grabau, T. S. Eliot, and Garrett Mattingly.

Carton 5Folder 39-41SH 14XA 7

1899-1909

Carton 9SH 14XB 8

1900s-1976, undated

Carton 10Folder 1-8SH 14X9 6

Roger Bigelow Merriman, 1900-1933

Carton 10Folder 9SH 14X9 6

Foote family, 1899-1945, 1959, undated

Carton 10Folder 10SH 14X9 6

Helen Bigelow Merriman, 1903-1914

Carton 10Folder 11SH 14X9 6

Daniel Merriman (1938-1912), 1904-1911

Carton 10Folder 11SH 14X9 6

Extended family, 1903-1945

Carton 10Folder 13-15SH 14X9 6

Children and grandchildren, 1939-1962, undated

Carton 10Folder 16SH 14X9 6

Christmas card list, undated

B. Personal papers, 1903-1963

Material in this subseries includes poetry and verse written for or about Dorothea Foote Merriman, social events she attended or was invited to, financial records, diaries, membership documents, and information on businesses in the U.S. and United Kingdom that helped her run her household and host events for her family or in support of her husband Roger Bigelow Merriman's role as a professor at Harvard and as master of Eliot House.

Carton 10Folder 17SH 14X9 6

1930s-1950s

Carton 10Folder 18SH 14X9 6

Poetry and verse, 1903-1911, 1937, undated

Carton 10Folder 19Vol. 16SH 14X9 6

Diary, 1915

Carton 10Folder 20SH 14X9 6

Social events, 1917, 1946, 1958

Carton 10Folder 21SH 14X9 6

Financial records, 1920s-1940s

Carton 10Folder 22SH 14X9 6

Financial records—Property inventory and appraisal, 1949

Carton 10Folder 23SH 14X9 6

Calling cards and invitations, 1920s-1940s

Carton 10Folder 24Vol. 17SH 14X9 6

Calling cards and invitations, 1932-1950

Carton 10Folder 25SH 14X9 6

Passport and driving license, 1936, 1939, 1948

Carton 10Folder 26SH 14X9 6

Memberships, 1938-1945

Carton 10Folder 27SH 14X9 6

Memberships—Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1937, 1939, 1957, undated

Carton 10Folder 28SH 14X9 6

Memberships—Tuesday Club, 1941

Carton 10Folder 29SH 14X9 6

Memberships—Parliamentary Law Club, 1941

Carton 10Folder 230SH 14X9 6

Newspaper clippings, ca. 1950s-1960s

Carton 10Folder 31SH 14X9 6

Travel diary, 6-14 April 1963

Carton 10Folder 32-33SH 14X9 6

Business addresses—Boston, undated

Carton 10Folder 34SH 14X9 6

Business addresses—New York, United Kingdom, and Europe, undated

C. Professional papers, 1933-1969

The professional papers of Dorothea Foote Merriman consist of speeches and articles she wrote as part of her membership in the Tuesday Club, Parliamentary Law Club, and for numerous other organizations or topics that were of interest to her. Also included in this subseries is material related to her work for the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, in particular during her tenure as president of Friends of the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, as well as her work for King's Chapel Branch of the Alliance of Unitarian Women, the Unitarian Church, and the General Alliance of Unitarian Women and Other Liberal Christian Women.

i. Speeches and writings, 1933-ca. 1950s

Carton 10Folder 35SH 14X9 6

Tuesday Club—on life's values, 5 December 1933

Carton 10Folder 36SH 14X9 6

Tuesday Club—"Can a Country Be Self-Sufficient (European)?" 7 December 1937

Carton 10Folder 37SH 14X9 6

Tuesday Club—"Alice James" on her death, undated

Carton 10Folder 38SH 14X9 6

Parliamentary Law Club—"That Chamberlain was Right in His Solution of the Czechoslovakian Problem," 13 December 1938

Carton 10Folder 39SH 14X9 6

Radio Broadcast WNAC with Connie Stackpole [transcript], 9 December 1943

Carton 10Folder 40SH 14X9 6

Harvard Society of Fellows—Walter B. Rosen and the Rosen Professorship, 11 May 1951

Carton 10Folder 41SH 14X9 6

Parent's League—"Pros and Cons of Boarding School," 8 March [1930s]

Carton 10Folder 42SH 14X9 6

Community claims on women, 1930s

Carton 10Folder 43SH 14X9 6

"How Well is the Human Mind Adjusting Itself to the Modern Tempo," 1930s

Carton 10Folder 44SH 14X9 6

Notes, 1930s, undated

Carton 10Folder 45SH 14X9 6

King's Chapel Alliance, ca. 1950s, undated

Carton 10Folder 46SH 14X9 6

"Fashion and Convention Govern Us," undated

Carton 10Folder 46SH 14X9 6

"Fashion and Convention Govern Us," undated

Carton 10Folder 47SH 14X9 6

"That Variety Rather than Quality is the Ambition of the American Woman," undated

Carton 10Folder 48SH 14X9 6

"That Life 50 Years Ago was Happier and More Worthwhile than It Is Today," undated

Carton 10Folder 49SH 14X9 6

Travel—Spain, undated

Carton 10Folder 50SH 14X9 6

Travel—Spain and Portugal, undated

Carton 10Folder 51SH 14X9 6

Travel—Balearics, undated

Carton 10Folder 52SH 14X9 6

Modern music and jazz, undated

Carton 10Folder 53SH 14X9 6

Women's careers and homemaking, undated

Carton 11Folder 1SH 14XM J

The school's relation to the new ideas in education, undated

Carton 11Folder 2SH 14XM J

Carl Sandberg, undated

Carton 11Folder 3SH 14XM J

"What is the Future of Film?" undated

Carton 11Folder 4SH 14XM J

"Has Patriotism or National Feeling Taken the Place of Religion in the World As Man's Primary Obligation?" undated

ii. Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, 1948-1969

Carton 11Folder 5SH 14XM J

Publications—Friends of Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Newsletter, 1948-1959

Carton 11Folder 5SH 14XM J

Publications—Friends of Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Newsletter, 1948-1959

Carton 11Folder 6SH 14XM J

Publications—Brigham Bulletin, 1950-1958, 1967

Carton 11Folder 7SH 14XM J

Publications—Staff newsletter, 1952, 1957-1958

Carton 11Folder 8SH 14XM J

Publications—Board of Trustees bulletin, 1957

Carton 11Folder 9SH 14XM J

News releases, 1957, 1963

Carton 11Folder 10-11SH 14XM J

Reports, 1950-1969

Carton 11Folder 12SH 14XM J

Fundraising, 1951-1952, 1959

Carton 11Folder 13-14SH 14XM J

Board of the Friends of Peter Bent Brigham Hospital meeting minutes, 1951-1967

Carton 11Folder 15SH 14XM J

Board of the Friends of Peter Bent Brigham Hospital officers and committee chairmen, 1951-1952

Carton 11Folder 16-19SH 14XM J

Friends of Peter Bent Brigham Hospital membership lists, 1952-1956, undated

Carton 11Folder 20SH 14XM J

Governance and administrative records, 1955

Oversize Box 1Folder 4SH 1BDY

Honorary President for Life of Friends of Peter Bent Brigham Hospital certificate, 19 May 1959

Carton 11Folder 21SH 14XM J

Miscellaneous, 1940s-1950s

Carton 11Folder 22SH 14XM J

Printed material, 1950s

Carton 11Folder 23SH 14XM J

Committees, 1950s

Carton 11Folder 24SH 14XM J

Notes and speeches, 1950s

Carton 11Folder 25-26SH 14XM J

Other hospitals and organizations, 1950s

iii. King's Chapel Branch of the Alliance of Unitarian Women, 1957-1959, 1969

Carton 11Folder 27-28SH 14XM J

iv. Unitarian Church, 1959

Carton 11Folder 29SH 14XM J

v. General Alliance of Unitarian Women and Other Liberal Christian Women, 1959

Carton 11Folder 30SH 14XM J

III. Helen Bigelow Merriman papers, 1851-1934

Arranged chronologically.

A. Correspondence, 1851-1929

Helen Bigelow Merriman's correspondence consists of letters between Helen and various family members, including her husband Daniel Merriman (1838-1912); son Roger Bigelow Merriman and daughter-in-law Dorothea Foote Merriman and their children; mother Eliza Frances Means Bigelow; extended Means, Adams, and Noyes families; and friends and acquaintances mainly in the U.S. and abroad, as well as within the art and literary world.

Correspondents include William Michael Rossetti, William James, Ethel Lyman Paine, Mary Caroline Hardy, Sarah Orne Jewett, Annie Adams Fields, Josiah Royce, William Dean Howells, William Wetmore Story, Elihu Vedder, Alice Have Gibbens James, Sarah B. Earle, Samuel Chapman Armstrong, Owen Wister, Adelaide Eliza Payson Palfrey, and Sarah Wyman Whitman. Of interest are letters from William James in which he provides light critiques of Helen's article on "The School of 1830" (1885) and her manuscript for Religio Pictoris (1898); William Michael Rossetti answering her questions on the Pre-Raphaelite movement (1884); George Frederic Watts discussing his interest in having his work represented in the United States with the possibilities being his study of Eve or Clytie (1892); William Wetmore Story providing assistance in Rome for a cast of the Eros of Centocelle held at the Vatican ordered by Helen that was lost in transit (1893); Samuel Chapman Armstrong discussing his thoughts on one of Helen's recently published books; and Philip J. Gentner providing a detailed account of his experience in Europe during World War I.

Carton 11Folder 31-36SH 14XM J

1874-1904, undated

Carton 11Folder 37-39SH 14XM J

Eliza Frances Means Bigelow, 1851, 1879-1883, undated

Carton 11Folder 40-49SH 14XM J

Roger Bigelow Merriman, 1883-1898

Carton 12Folder 1-23SH 14X6 3

Roger Bigelow Merriman, 1899-1929, undated

Carton 12Folder 24SH 14X6 3

Daniel Merriman (1838-1912), 1891, 1898, 1912

Carton 12Folder 25SH 14X6 3

Extended family, 1891-1897, 1924, undated

Carton 12Folder 26-30SH 14X6 3

Dorothea Foote Merriman, 1911-1929, undated

Carton 12Folder 31SH 14X6 3

Grand children, 1915-1926, undated

B. Personal papers, 1869-1934

This subseries contains the personal papers of Helen Bigelow Merriman. They include a guest book and compiled history of Helen's estate in Intervale, New Hampshire, called Stonehurst; poems and verse written to or about Helen; a copy of her published work Concerning Portraits and Portraiture (1891); biographical information; and papers regarding her death and estate.

Guests at Stonehurst include members of the Adams, Noyes, Means, Bigelow, Lawrence, Nourse, Foote, and Merriman families, as well as local and international friends and acquaintances in the art, literary, education, history, and science fields, including the Gage family, Gaillard Lapsley, Robert Wolcott, Vernon Munroe, Edith Loring Getchell, G. Stanley Hall, William Thomas Sampson, Adolf Meyer, Sarah Orne Jewett, Mary Jewett, James Mason Crafts, Emily Davis Tyson, Sir John Kennaway, William James, Alice H. James, Edward Twichell Ware, Booker T. Washington, James Hardy Ropes, Gretchen Osgood Warren, Mary Alden Osgood (later Childers), Edwin Bale, Lincoln Newton Kinnicutt, Edward Everett Hale Benjamin Wisher Bacon, Rev. Robert Allan Hume, Ethel Lyman Paine, John Chipman Gray, and Lillian Horsford Farlow, among many others.

Carton 12Folder 32SH 14X6 3

1883, undated

Carton 12Folder 33Vol. 18SH 14X6 3

Annals of Stonehurst Vol. I, 1869-1901, 1889-1901

Carton 12Folder 34Vol. 19SH 14X6 3

Annals of Stonehurst Vol. II, 1902-1924

Carton 12Folder 35SH 14X6 3

Concerning Portraits and Portraiture, read before Worcester Art Society, 17 February 1891

Carton 12Folder 36Vol. 20SH 14X6 3

Stonehurst, Intervale, New Hampshire, guestbook, 1898-1932

Carton 12Folder 37SH 14X6 3

Poems and verse, 1910, 1924, undated

Carton 12Folder 38Vol. 21SH 14X6 3

Cookbook, ca. 1910

Carton 12Folder 39SH 14X6 3

Biographical and death papers, 1933-1934

IV. Daniel Merriman (1838-1912) papers, 1851-1912

Arranged chronologically.

A. Correspondence, 1851-1908

Daniel Merriman's (1838-1912) correspondence consists of letters from his wife Helen Bigelow Merriman, their son Roger Bigelow Merriman, friends, and mostly distant relatives concerning family research and genealogy of the Merriman, Adams, and White families. Correspondents include Erastus Brigham Bigelow, Sarah Jane Merriman, Clark Spencer Merriman, Orel Louise Adams, James Hosmer, Rev. Joseph Edmund Wildman, David H. Lovejoy, James Shepard, Sarah C. Adams Hendrie, John Calvin Crane, Eli Ives Merriman, George Frisbee Hoar, Anton Mensing, Damaris Merriman, Edward Everett Hale, and Louella Merriman Doughtery.

For more material relating to Merriman family history and genealogy, see Roger Bigelow Merriman extended family correspondence in series I.A. and Merriman family papers genealogy in series VI.B.

Carton 12Folder 40-44SH 14X6 3

1851, 1874-1903, undated

Carton 12Folder 45SH 14X6 3

Helen Bigelow Merriman, 1873, 1887, 1898

Carton 12Folder 46-55SH 14X6 3

Roger Bigelow Merriman, October 1897-April 1899

Carton 13Folder 1-10SH 14XD A

Roger Bigelow Merriman, October 1900-1908, undated

B. Personal papers, 1863-1912

The personal papers of Daniel Merriman (1838-1912) consist of material pertaining to ancient armor purchased in England and later donated to the Worcester Art Museum, poetry and verse mostly written by Merriman, his degrees from Williams College and Andover Theological Seminary, and an obituary.

Carton 13Folder 11SH 14XD A

1884-1912

Oversize Box 1Folder 4SH 1BDY

Gradus Primi (A.B.) degree, Williams College, 1863

Oversize Box 1Folder 4SH 1BDY

Gradus Secundi (A.M.) degree, Williams College, 1866

Oversize Box 1Folder 4SH 1BDY

Doctor of Theology (Ph.D.) honorary degree, Williams College, 1881

Oversize Box 1Folder 4SH 1BDY

Andover Theological Seminary certificate, 6 Aug. 1868

C. Financial records, 1875, 1891-1892

The financial records of Daniel Merriman (1838-1912) include a receipt from art and artifact dealer Arthur Smart of London detailing the sale of pieces of ancient arms and armor (1892).

Carton 13Folder 12SH 14XD A

V. Bigelow family papers, 1837-1891

Arranged loosely chronologically within each subseries.

A. Erastus Brigham Bigelow papers, 1837-1979

The papers of Erastus Brigham Bigelow consist of correspondence, biographical, and professional papers relating to carpet looms. Correspondence mostly pertains to Bigelow's business producing carpets, maintaining his loom patents, and investigating patent infringement. Correspondents include his daughter Helen Bigelow Merriman and brother Horatio Nelson Bigelow, as well as law and patent professionals assisting Bigelow with his business operations and providing legal advice and services. They include Charles M. Keller, B. R. Curtis, A. P. and C. Browne, Peter Graham, John Augustus Griswold, Joel Giles, and John Hazelhurst Boneval Latrobe, and mostly pertain to addressing patent infringement by John Johnson, E. S. Higgins and Co., William Webster, William Weild, and George Roberts.

Material pertaining to patents includes Bigelow's patents and the patents of others, including Augustus Faulkner, Thomas Flint, John Haight, John Goulding, William Weild, John Johnson, Frank T. Hastings, and James H. Murrill, with attached plans and renderings. Other material includes certificates for the Massachusetts Historical Society (resident member) and the Museum of Fine Arts (founding member) and honorary degrees from Harvard and Yale Universities.

Carton 13Folder 13-21SH 14XD A

Correspondence, 1848-1859, 1879, undated

Carton 13Folder 22SH 14XD A

Biographical material, 1860, 1866, 1927, undated

Carton 13Folder 23SH 14XD A

Death, 1879

Oversize Box 2Folder 1SH 1BDZ

Honorary degrees, undated

Carton 13Folder 24-30SH 14XD A

Patent documents, 1837-1863

Oversize Box 2Folder 2-4SH 1BDZ

Patent documents, 1842-1857

Carton 13Folder 31-33SH 14XD A

Indentures, agreements, etc., 1837-1852

Carton 13Folder 34-39SH 14XD A

Patents of others, 1841-1860

Oversize Box 2Folder 5-15SH 1BDZ

Patents of others, 1834-1860

Carton 13Folder 40-41SH 14XD A

Infringement cases, 1849-1850s

Oversize Box 2Folder 1SH 1BDZ

Certificates, 1864, 1871

Oversize Box 2Folder 1SH 1BDZ

Honorary degrees, undated

B. Eliza Frances Means Bigelow correspondence, 1866-1891, undated

Arranged chronologically.

The Eliza Frances Means Bigelow correspondence includes letters between Bigelow and her daughter Helen Bigelow Merriman, grandson Roger Bigelow Merriman, sisters Mary Jane Means Adams and Nancy Ellis Means, and niece Catherine Cleaveland Lawrence.

Carton 13Folder 42SH 14XD A

VI. Extended Merriman family papers, 1842-1942

Arranged loosely chronologically.

This series contains material for extended Merriman family members consisting of correspondence; Merriman, Adams, Means, Bigelow, and Foote family genealogy; and the personal and professional papers of Roger Bigelow Merriman and Dorothea Foote Merriman's children: Roger Bigelow Merriman (1905-1994), Frances Eliot Merriman, Daniel Merriman (1908-1984), Dorothea Foote Merriman Sims, and Helen Prudence Merriman Fernald.

A. Family papers, 1842-1942

Arranged loosely chronologically.

This series contains papers of extended Merriman family members and mainly consists of correspondence between unidentified relatives. Correspondence includes letters from Roger Bigelow Merriman and Dorothea Foote Merriman to their children. Correspondence from Addison Merriman to his sons, including one to William Edward Merriman (1845), discusses his memories and knowledge of the Merriman family history.

Carton 13Folder 43SH 14XD A

1842-1942, undated

Carton 13Folder 44SH 14XD A

Addison Merriman correspondence, 1845, 1847, undated

B. Genealogy, 1878-1960

Arranged loosely chronologically.

This subseries contains genealogy mostly complied by Daniel Merriman (1838-1912) and later by his son Roger Bigelow Merriman. Material includes handwritten and typed notes, genealogies, and histories, as well as official records pertaining to the Merriman, Adams, Means, Bigelow, and Foote families. Of interest is material for the "Merriman Tri-Centennial" held on 4 June 1913 in Wallingford, Connecticut, celebrating the 300th anniversary of the birth of Nathaniel Merriman and a gathering of his descendants.

For more material relating to Merriman family history and genealogy, see Roger Bigelow Merriman extended family correspondence in series I.A. and Daniel Merriman correspondence in series IV.A.

Carton 13Folder 45-46SH 14XD A

Adams family, 1878, 1894, 1913, undated

Carton 13Folder 47SH 14XD A

Merriman family history, 1894-1913

Carton 14Folder 1-2SH 14X7 4

Descendants of Nathaniel Merriman (1613-1694), 1894-1913

Carton 14Folder 3SH 14X7 4

Foote family, ca. 1934, undated

Carton 14Folder 4SH 14X7 4

Roger Bigelow and Dorothea Foote Merriman family, 1960, undated

Carton 14Folder 5SH 14X7 4

Means-Bigelow family, undated

Carton 14Folder 6SH 14X7 4

Notes, ca. 1890s, undated

C. Roger Bigelow Merriman, Jr. (1905-1994) papers, 1905-1941

Arranged loosely chronologically.

The papers of Roger Bigelow Merriman, Jr. (1905-1994) consists mainly of correspondence from his parents Roger Bigelow Merriman and Dorothea Foote Merriman, as well as poems written by his grandfather Daniel Merriman (1838-1912) and articles about the start of his tenure as headmaster at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1941).

Carton 14Folder 7-14SH 14X7 4

D. Frances Eliot Merriman papers, 1917

Arranged loosely chronologically.

This subseries contains the funeral service for Frances Eliot Merriman held at King's Chapel on 30 October 1917.

Carton 14Folder 15SH 14X7 4

E. Daniel Merriman (1908-1984) papers, 1918-1946

Arranged loosely chronologically.

The papers of Daniel Merriman (1908-1984) consist mainly of correspondence from his parents Roger Bigelow Merriman and Dorothea Foote Merriman, as well as published works relating to his profession as a marine biologist. Subjects include Squam Lake trout, tethys willcoxi, striped bass, systematist and ichthyologist Peter Artedi, Connecticut marine fishes, gametogenesis in the four-spined stickleback, the sea raven, and studies on the marine resources of Southern New England.

Carton 14Folder 16-23SH 14X7 4

F. Dorothea Foote Merriman Sims papers, 1939, 1952, undated

Arranged loosely chronologically.

Material in this subseries consists of invitations and programs for events that Dorothea Foote Merriman Sims attended or participated in.

Carton 14Folder 24SH 14X7 4

G. Helen Prudence Merriman Fernald papers, 1941

Arranged loosely chronologically.

Material in this subseries consists of the invitation to the wedding reception of Helen Prudence Merriman and Mason Fernald on 1 March 1941.

Carton 14Folder 25SH 14X7 4

VII. Foote family papers, 1863-1964

Arranged loosely chronologically.

The Foote family papers consist mainly of correspondence between various Foote family members, including Caleb Foote writing to his sister-in-law Elizabeth Amelia White Dwight about her son William Dwight (1863) and son Henry Wilder Foote; Henry Wilder Foote (1875-1964); Lyman family cousins; and a letter from Oliver Wendell Holmes addressed to a Miss Foote. The bulk of the correspondence consists of letters from Dorothea Foote Merriman to her brother Henry Wilder Foote, sister-in-law Eleanor Tyson Cope Foote, and sister Frances Eliot Foote Cornish. Other material includes articles and sermons by or about Henry Wilder Foote (1875-1964), Wilder Foote (1905-1975), and Charles William Eliot.

Carton 14Folder 26-33SH 14X7 4

Correspondence, 1863-1935, undated

Carton 14Folder 34SH 14X7 4

Charles William Eliot articles and obituaries, 1926

Carton 14Folder 35-36SH 14X7 4

Henry Wilder Foote (1875-1964) papers, 1954, 1956, 1964

Carton 14Folder 37SH 14X7 4

Wilder Foote (1905-1975) papers, November 1959

Preferred Citation

Merriman 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.

Persons:

Bigelow, Erastus B. (Erastus Brigham), 1814-1879.
Grabau, Martin, 1901-1965.
James, Henry, 1843-1916.
James, Henry, 1879-1947.
James, William, 1842-1910.
Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909.
Lapsley, Gaillard Thomas.
Mattingly, Garrett, 1900-1962.
Merriman, Daniel, 1838-1912.
Merriman, Dorothea Foote.
Merriman family--Genealogy.
Merriman, Helen Bigelow, 1844-1933.
Merriman, Roger Bigelow, 1876-1945.
Prothero, G. W. (George Walter), 1848-1922.
Temperley, Harold William Vazeille, 1879-1939.
Trevelyan, George Macaulay, 1876-1962.

Organizations:

Bigelow Carpet Company.
Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Berlin--Students.
Harvard University--Faculty.
Harvard University--Students.
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.
United States. Army. American Expeditionary Forces in Siberia.
University of Oxford--Faculty.
University of Oxford--Students.

Subjects:

Art--Collectors and collecting.
Diaries--1915.
Diaries--1918
England--Description and travel.
Family history--1800-1849.
Family history--1850-1899.
Family history--1900-1949.
France--Description and travel.
Historians--France.
Historians--Great Britain.
Historians--Massachusetts.
Historians--Spain.
History--Study and teaching.
Inventors--Massachusetts.
Looms--Patents.
Patents--Great Britain.
Patents--United States.
Poetry.
Publishers and publishing.
Real property--New Hampshire.
Scrapbooks--1914-1917.
Speeches, addresses, etc.
Teachers.
Women artists.
Women authors, American--19th century.
World War, 1914-1918--Personal narratives, American.

Materials Removed from the Collection

Original drawings and watercolors of birds and scenes from an 1875 European trip by Helen Bigelow Merriman and World War I cartoon drawings have been removed from this collection and are now stored with the MHS Graphics Collection.

Photographs from this collection were removed to the MHS Photo Archives.

Some artifacts were removed to the Artifacts Collection.