1764-1914; bulk: 1850-1914
Guide to the Collection
Funding for the digitization of this collection and the creation of preservation microfilm was provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act grant as administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
Representative digitized documents from this collection:
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.
Abstract
This collection consists of clippings and correspondence related primarily to Norwood P. Hallowell's career as an army officer and as lieutenant-colonel of the 55th Mass. Regiment, the second Black regiment in the state, during the Civil War.
Biographical Sketch
Norwood Penrose Hallowell (1839-1914) was born on 13 Apr. 1839 in Philadelphia, Penn., the son of Morris L. and Hannah (Penrose) Hallowell. He graduated from Harvard College in 1861. On 10 June 1861, he was commissioned first lieutenant of the 20th Mass. Regiment and later promoted to captain. He fought in many battles, including Ball's Bluff, Yorktown, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Chantilly, and Antietam, where he was wounded. On 17 Apr. 1863, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 54th Mass. Regiment and later colonel of the 55th Mass. Regiment, the second Black regiment raised in the state. The regiment was stationed at New Bern, N.C. and took part in the attack on Fort Wagner, S.C. Hallowell's brothers, Edward N. and Richard P. Hallowell, were also involved in the recruitment of Black soldiers for the 54th and 55th Regiments. The family was active in the anti-slavery movement and worked to get equal pay for Black soldiers and other equal treatment for Blacks.
In 1863, Norwood P. Hallowell was discharged from military service and entered the wool business in New York and Boston. He married Sarah Wharton Haydock on 27 Jan. 1868. The couple settled in Medford, Mass. and had six children: Anna Norwood Hallowell; Robert Haydock Hallowell; Norwood Penrose Hallowell, Jr.; John White Hallowell; Esther Fisher Hallowell; and Susan Morris Hallowell.
Collection Description
This collection consists of clippings and correspondence related mostly to Norwood P. Hallowell's career as an army officer and as lieutenant-colonel of the 55th Mass. Regiment. The papers, primarily in scrapbooks, also contain Hallowell's essays as a student at Harvard, papers related to his lifelong affiliation and loyalty to the college, and items concerning his career as a businessman in Boston.
Arrangement
The Norwood Penrose Hallowell papers consist primarily of five scrapbooks. Three of the scrapbooks (Vols. 1, 2, and 4) have been disbound and rehoused in boxes and folders, and two of the scrapbooks (Vols. 3 and 5) are still bound. Volume 3 is an oversize scrapbook located in Oversize Box 1. Items in some, but not all, of the scrapbooks are arranged in rough chronological order, and researchers will find overlap of dates and subjects across the five volumes. Some loose clippings were photocopied for preservation.
Oversize papers in this collection have been removed to an oversize box but are digitized at their original location. Some loose items from Scrapbook Vol. 5 have been removed to document boxes, but are also digitized at their original location.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Mrs. John Crocker, May 1971.
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.
Other Formats
The collection is also available on microfilm, P-800 (2 reels). See the Microfilm Reel List below.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Loose papers, 1858-1914digital content
Included are speeches, writings, correspondence, and clippings.
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862-1863
1864-1865
1867-1877
1882-1899
1903-1910
1911-1914
Undated papers
Scrapbook vol. 1, 1850-1904 (disbound)digital content
Included are clippings, photographs, correspondence, and ephemera. NOTE: Some numbered pages in this scrapbook are blank and have not been scanned. All pages with content are included in the digital presentation.
Pages 1-6
Pages 7-14
Pages 15-24
Pages 25-34
Pages 35-42
Pages 43-50
Page 51; The Negro as a Soldier in the War of the Rebellion, by Norwood P. Hallowell (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1897)
Pages 52-60
Pages 61-66
Pages 67-76
Pages 77-84
Pages 85-94
Loose materials
Scrapbook vol. 2, 1863-1887; bulk: 1863-1865 (disbound)digital content
This scrapbook contains clippings primarily related to the 54th and 55th Mass. Regiments, as well as printed material, notices, broadsides, circular letters, and correspondence of John A. Andrew and Edward N. Hallowell. Because many of the papers were loose, individual items have been numbered rather than pages.
Items 1-25
Items 26-57
Items 58-68
Items 69-89
Items 90-105
Items 106-130
Items 131-147
Items 148-151
Items 152-168
Items 169-188
Items 189-199
Items 200-219
Items 220-229
Items 230-239
Items 240-249
Items 250-259
Items 260-269
Items 270-279
Items 280-289
Items 290-299
Items 300-309
Items 310-319
Items 320-329
Items 330-339
Items 340-349
Items 350-359
Items 360-369
Items 370-379
Items 380-389
Items 390-399
Items 400-415
Items 416-430
Items 431-440
Items 441-457
Items 458-469
Items 471-488
Items 489-499
Items 500-509
Items 510-526
Items 527-539
Items 540-557
Item 558
Items 559-560
Items 561-575
Items 576-590
Items 591-595
Loose materials
Scrapbook vol. 3, 1764-1914; bulk: 1862-1914digital content
This scrapbook contains clippings, photographs, and papers related to the education of Hallowell family members; material on Harvard College, especially Harvard football; and obituaries of members of the 54th and 55th Mass. Regiments. Correspondents include Morris L. Hallowell, George F. Hoar, Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and William H. Taft.
Scrapbook Volume 3
Scrapbook vol. 4, 1860-1888 (disbound)digital content
Front matter/loose papers
Pages 1-10
Pages 11-20
Pages 21-30
Pages 31-41
Pages 42-53
Scrapbook vol. 5, 1861-1885; bulk: 1861-1863digital content
NOTE: Loose items from this volume are stored in Box 3 but are digitized at their original location.
Bound scrapbook. Included are clippings related to the Civil War, especially the 20th Mass. Regiment.
Scrapbook Volume 5
Loose items removed from Scrapbook Volume 5, pages 25-47
NOTE: Loose items from this volume are stored in Box 3 but are digitized at their original location.
Loose items removed from Scrapbook Volume 5, page 51
NOTE: Loose items from this volume are stored in Box 3 but are digitized at their original location.
Loose items removed from Scrapbook Volume 5, page 95 and end of vol.
NOTE: Loose items from this volume are stored in Box 3 but are digitized at their original location.
Oversize papers
NOTE: Oversize papers in this collection have been removed to an oversize box but are digitized at their original location.
Microfilm Reel List
Loose papers, 1858-1914, undated
Volume 1, 1850-1904
Volume 2, 1863-1887; bulk: 1863-1865
Volume 3, 1764-1914; bulk: 1862-1914
Volume 4, 1860-1888
Volume 5, 1861-1885; bulk: 1861-1863
Preferred Citation
Norwood Penrose Hallowell 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:
Organizations:
Subjects:
Materials Removed from the Collection
One photograph from this collection has been removed to Portraits small (Photo. 9.34).