1599-1962; bulk: 1836-1919
Guide to the Collection
Abstract
This collection contains the papers of the Garrison family and their extended Anthony and Ritchie families. The bulk of the material is from George Thompson Garrison and John Ritchie. Included are letters, personal and professional papers, financial and business records, travel material, diaries, news clippings, writings, poetry, legal documents, autograph collections, scrapbooks, business ledgers, and material relating to the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Regiments during and after the Civil War.
Biographical Sketches
Garrison Family
William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879) was born 10 December 1805 in Newburyport, Mass. to Abijah Garrison and Frances Maria Lloyd Garrison. In 1818, he began an apprenticeship at the Herald newspaper in Newburyport; over time he also began writing articles for the paper. He briefly started his own paper, after which he worked at various papers in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maryland before accepting a position in 1829 for abolitionist Benjamin Lundy's Genius of Universal Emancipation. In 1831, he established the anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator in Boston. William also founded the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, later the American Anti-Slavery Society, which called for the complete abolition of slavery. He also used his platform to advocate for women's rights. Following the abolition of slavery, Garrison closed The Liberator and stepped down from his position as president of the American Anti-Slavery Society. He continued to advocate for social reform, chiefly Black civil rights and woman's suffrage, for the rest of his life, through writing and speaking events. In 1834, he married Helen Eliza Benson (1811-1876), the daughter of George Benson and Sarah Thurber Benson of Rhode Island. The couple had seven children: George Thompson (1836-1904), William Lloyd, Jr. (1838-1909), Wendell Phillips (1840-1907), Charles Follen (1842-1849), Helen Frances (1844-1928), Elizabeth Pease (1846-1848), and Francis Jackson (1848-1916).
George Thompson Garrison (1836-1904) was born 13 February 1836, the eldest child of William Lloyd Garrison and Helen Eliza Benson Garrison. After attending schools in Boston and Northampton, Mass., George was sent to Hopedale Home School in Hopedale, Mass. from 1850-1852. There he boarded with the family of William Henry Fish. While attending school, he was part of a group of students who established a school newspaper called the Diamond, which ran from 1851-1852. From 1851-1854, George also worked in the Danvers, Mass. law office of Adam F. Clark. After he returned to Boston, he started work as an assistant to James Manning Winchell Yerrinton at his father's newspaper The Liberator from 1855-1857. In April of 1857, George left for Nininger, Minnesota. He shared a room with his friend from Hopedale, William Baylies Reed, and worked in the blind and sash shop of Anthony Reed before being hired as a printer by A. W. MacDonald for his newspaper, the Emigrant Aid Journal. In early 1858, following the Panic of 1857, the newspaper closed. In the fall of 1858, George left for Kansas where he stayed with his uncle George W. Benson's family in Lawrence. The Bensons were early settlers to the area, being part of the New England Emigrant Aid Company's mission to fill the Kansas-Nebraska territories with anti-slavery supporters. While there, George worked as a printer at the Lawrence Republican. After encountering financial difficulties and with few prospects, he returned home in October 1859. Once back in Boston, George returned to The Liberator for the next two years.
Following the creation of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the first Black regiment raised in the North, in 1863, George accepted an officer's commission as second lieutenant in the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in Company I, which was comprised of Black soldiers and white officers and was created after the 54th was full. By June he was training with his regiment at Camp Meigs, and by July 25 arrived in North Carolina. In November of 1863, George was promoted to first lieutenant, and in June 1865 to captain of Company K. He was brevetted a major in July of 1867. He also served as regimental quartermaster for a time. The regiment engaged in skirmishes and expeditions in South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, including the Battles of Honey Hill and St. James Island.
Following the Civil War, George returned to The Liberator before it closed, then went to work for his brother William at Bailey, Jenkins, and Garrison as an accountant until 1868. Soon after, he moved to New York and began work as a bookkeeper at The Nation, the newspaper where his brother Wendell worked. In 1871, he returned to Boston and purchased a paper box manufacturing business on Congress Street. However, on 9 November 1872, it was destroyed in the Great Boston Fire. George once again went to work for his brother William in various enterprises, including Garrison and Howe. George married Annie Keene Anthony on 1 October 1873. George died 26 January 1904.
Annie Keene Anthony Garrison (1839-1922) was born 23 July 1839 to John Gould Anthony and Anne Whitney Rhodes Anthony in Cincinnati, Ohio. Annie's paternal uncle Henry Anthony was married to George's maternal aunt, Charlotte Benson Anthony. During the Civil War, the two began a correspondence and became engaged in 1865. Though it was quickly called off, they became engaged again in 1872 and were married in 1873 at her parent's home in Cambridgeport, Mass. They had three children: Elisabeth (1874-1959), Rhodes Anthony (b. 1877), and Fanny (1879-1975). The family resided on Fairview Terrace in West Newton, Mass. Annie died 12 March 1922.
William Lloyd Garrison, Jr. (1838-1909) was the second child of William Lloyd Garrison and Helen Eliza Benson Garrison. He was born 21 January 1838. After leaving Boston Latin School before graduation, he took an internship with James Buffum at his shoe business in 1855. He moved to Lynn, Mass. to work as a teller at Laighton Bank until 1862, later becoming employed at Richard Hallowell's wool business in 1863. He then established his own wool businesses, Bailey, Jenkins, and Garrison in 1866, which was destroyed in the Boston Fire of 1872, and Garrison and Rodliff in 1877. William established an investment brokerage firm in 1884 and in 1888, Garrison and Howe, a commercial paper and investment securities firm. In September of 1864, he married Ellen Wright (1840-1931), the daughter of abolitionists and suffragists David Wright and Martha Coffin Wright of Auburn, N.Y. The couple had five children: Agnes (1866-1950), Charles (1868-1951), Frank Wright (1871-1961), William Lloyd III (1874-1964), and Eleanor (1880-1974). William died 13 September 1909.
Wendell Phillips Garrison (1840-1907), known as Wendy, was born 4 June 1840 to William Lloyd Garrison and Helen Eliza Benson Garrison. He attended Boston Latin School from 1852-1857 and graduated from Harvard College in 1861. After graduating, he briefly worked as a teacher and tutor and began writing articles for The Liberator in 1864. Not long after, he left for New York City to work at the Independent. By 1865, he had been hired as an associate editor at The Nation. When The Nation merged with the New York Evening Post in 1881, Wendell became literary editor of the Post and editor-in-charge of The Nation before retiring in 1906. He also, along with his brothers, undertook completing their father's biography. Wendell married Lucy McKim (1842-1877) in 1865. She was the daughter of James Miller McKim and Sarah Allibone Speakman McKim of Philadelphia. Lucy came from an abolitionist family and collected songs of enslaved people that were published in Slave Songs of the United States. Together they had three children: Lloyd McKim Garrison (1867-1900), Philip McKim Garrison (1870-1935), and Katherine McKim Garrison (1873-1948). The family settled in Orange, New Jersey. In 1891, Wendell married Lucy's sister Annie McKim Dennis Garrison (1841-1893). Wendell died on 17 February 1907.
Helen Frances Garrison Villard (1844-1928), known as Fanny, was the fourth child and only surviving daughter of William Lloyd Garrison and Helen Eliza Benson Garrison. She was born on 16 December 1844. Like her brothers, she attended local schools before completing her formal education in 1862. In 1866, Fanny married Henry Villard (1835-1900) at the Garrison family home. Henry, or Harry, was born Ferdinand Heinrich Gustav Hilgard in Speyer, Germany to Gustav Leonhard Hilgard and Katharina Antonia Elisabeth von Pfeiffer Hilgard. After coming to the United States, he worked in the newspaper business. From 1881-1884, he served as president of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company and later as chairman of the Board of Directors, 1889-1893. In 1881, he purchased controlling interest in the Evening Post and The Nation. He later established the Edison General Electric Company around 1890. They had four children: Helen Elise (1868-1917), Harold Garrison (1869-1952), Oswald Garrison (1872-1949), and Henry Hilgard (1883-1890). The family spent time in Germany and New York. Later in life, Fanny became active in pacifist and women's rights groups. She died 5 July 1928.
Francis Jackson Garrison (1848-1916), the youngest child of William Lloyd Garrison and Helen Eliza Benson Garrison, was born 29 October 1848. He graduated from Boston Latin School in 1865 and went on to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in January of 1868 before leaving that spring. In 1871, he took a position as a bookkeeper for the publishing company Riverside Press, later Houghton, Mifflin, and Company, where he worked until 1915. He also played a large role, along with Wendell, in completing their father's biography. In 1879, he married Mary Pratt (1853-1882), daughter of Francis Pratt and Frances Tillinghast Pratt of Pawtucket, R.I. Mary died from complications of childbirth, along with their daughter Ruth Phillips Garrison, in July of 1882. Frank married Theresa Holmes (1857-1915), a pianist and composer, in 1891. She was the daughter of Jacob Holmes and Charlotte Mead Holmes. Together they had two sons: Wendell Holmes (1894-1968) and David Holmes (1897-1899). Frank died on 11 December 1916.
Rhodes Anthony Garrison (1877-) was born 5 October 1877, the second child of George Thompson Garrison and Annie Keene Anthony Garrison. He graduated from Harvard University in 1900. Soon after he went to work at N. W. Harris and Co., which later became Harris, Forbes and Co. Rhodes married Marianne Baehrecke in 1908.
Marianne Baehrecke Garrison (1879-1951) from Dresden, Germany was the daughter of Alvin Friedrich Baehrecke and Johanna Marie Schoepffer Baehrecke. She was also the niece of the Garrison family friend John Ritchie and his wife Rosa Gertrude Schoepffer Ritchie. She married Rhodes Anthony Garrison in 1908, and they had five children: Ritchie (1911-1997), Frederick (1915-2001), Rhoda (1917-1993), George (1920-2005), and Arnold (1924-2010). Marianne died 1 July 1951.
Fanny Garrison (1879-1975), born 10 May 1879, was the third and youngest child of George Thompson Garrison and Annie Keene Anthony Garrison. She graduated from Smith College in 1902 and was an instructor of gymnastics at Briarcliff School by 1904. Later she worked in the Department of Hygiene and Physical Education at Wellesley College. Fanny died in 1975.
James Holley Garrison (1801-1843) was the eldest son of Abijah Garrison and Frances Maria Lloyd Garrison and brother of William Lloyd Garrison. He was born 10 July 1801 in Nova Scotia. After apprenticing in his youth as a shoemaker in Lynn, Mass., he became a sailor. James went to live with his brother William and his family after he became ill in 1840. His memoir, Behold Me Once More: The Confessions of James Holley Garrison, Brother of William Lloyd Garrison, was later published in 1954. James died in 1842.
Anthony family
John Gould Anthony (1804-1877) was a renowned conchologist who worked at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. He was born May 17, 1804 to Joseph Anthony and Mary Gould Anthony of Rhode Island. Before his career as a conchologist, he worked in the silversmith and jewelry business with various Cincinnati firms including, Allen, Rhodes & Co.; Rhodes, Anthony, and Carley; and Rhodes and Anthony. He married Anne Whitney Rhodes in 1832. John died October 16, 1877.
Anne Whitney Rhodes Anthony (1810-1898) was the daughter of Thomas Rhodes and Lydia Keene Rhodes of Rhode Island. She was born October 18, 1810. In 1832 she married John Gould Anthony and together they had Joseph Bowen (1833-1836), Thomas Rhodes (1836-1884), Edward Rhodes (1837-1923), Annie Keene (1839-1922), John Francis (1841-1925), Joseph Bowen (1843-1850), Charles Rhodes (1843-1853), [Mary] Elizabeth Lyell (1845-1929). The family lived in Cincinnati for over thirty years before moving to Cambridgeport, Mass. Anne died December 6, 1898.
Elizabeth Lyell Anthony (1845-1929) was born November 20, 1845, the daughter of John Gould Anthony and Anne Whitney Rhodes Anthony. She was born Mary Elizabeth Lyell Anthony but went by Elizabeth, or Lizzie, to family and friends. She worked for her father at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology starting in 1869 as one of his assistants. She remained in the department for 50 years. Elizabeth lived with her sister Annie Keene Anthony Garrison's family in West Newton and died in November of 1929.
Ritchie family
John Ritchie (1836-1919) was the third and youngest child of Uriah Ritchie and Susan White Rand Ritchie of Boston. He was born 4 August 1836 and grew up in the North End. He attended the Eliot School as a child, followed by English High School, graduating in 1855; Boston Latin from 1855 to 1857; and Harvard College, 1857-1861. He worked from 1852 to 1854 in his uncle George C. Rand's printing office. John was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment on 20 February 1863. Engagements included the Battle of Fort Wagner, Battle of Olustee, and the Battle of Honey Hill. John served as the regiment's quartermaster until he resigned his commission in June of 1865.
In 1866, he married his first cousin Caroline Stuart Poole (1835-1867), the daughter of Amos Poole and Caroline Curtis Rand Poole of Milton, Mass. Following her death in January of 1867, John spent much of his time travelling. He earned an income through real estate, owning properties on Federal and Franklin Streets in Boston, and Broadway and 26th Street in New York City. During a European trip, he met Rosa Gertrude Schoepffer. The two were married in 1876 in Dresden, Germany. The couple spent some time living in Winthrop, Mass. and Dresden before settling at 10 Mt. Vernon Street in Boston for many years. Later in life, they owned a house on the corner of Seaview Ave. and Canonicus St. in Cottage City on Martha's Vineyard; and later a cottage in Jackson N.H., first called Dornröschen and then Waldweben.
John travelled extensively throughout his life, including Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, the eastern seaboard, Europe, and North Africa. He was a member of numerous clubs and organizations, including president of the Massachusetts Cremation Society. John died 12 July 1919.
Rosa Gertrude Schoepffer Ritchie (1856-1949) was born in Dresden, Germany on 17 March 1856 to Hector August Friedrich Schoepffer and Jessy Bogen. Following her marriage to John Ritchie in 1876, Rosa travelled extensively, usually visiting family in Germany or spending time at the couple's vacation homes in Cottage City on Martha's Vineyard and in Jackson, N.H. During World War I, the interwar years, and World War II, Rosa was active in German aid work causes, including the Herminen Hilfswerk. She died 16 August 1949.
Uriah Ritchie (c.1800-1865) was born ca. 1800 to Samuel Ritchie and Mary Bond in Gortnessy, Ireland. At the age of 15, he went to Scotland, where he apprenticed as a mason. He sailed to Canada in 1821 before settling in Boston in 1823. Together with his brother John, Uriah worked as a mason and builder and earned income through real estate in Boston and New York. He supported the anti-slavery and temperance movements. In 1830, he married Susan White Rand (1809-1851), the daughter of John Rand and Betsey Babcock Rand. They had three children: Elizabeth (1831-1903), Uriah (1833-1863), and John (1836-1919). Uriah died in 1865.
Elizabeth Ritchie Lewis (1831-1903) was the eldest child of Uriah Ritchie and Susan White Rand Ritchie of Boston, born 23 March 1833. In 1856, she married John Allen Lewis. They had one son, Ritchie Lewis (1858-1863). The family lived in Chicago for a time before returning to Boston. Elizabeth died 19 March 1903.
John Allen Lewis (1819-1885) was born in Barnstable, Mass. to Josiah Lewis and Sally Gorham Lewis in November of 1819. He trained in typesetting under S. B. Phinney of the Barnstable Patriot, after which he went to California where he worked in newspaper printing for several years, first at the Alta California in San Francisco and later establishing the Los Angeles Star with William Henry Rand, the uncle of his wife Elizabeth Ritchie. After leaving California, he worked in the literary department for the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1856, he married Elizabeth Ritchie. The couple had a son Ritchie in 1858 and spent time in Chicago and Boston. John died 2 November 1885.
John Ritchie (c.1801-1883) was the son of Samuel Ritchie and Mary Bond Ritchie and brother of Uriah Ritchie. He was born ca. 1801 in Gortnessy, Ireland and arrived in Boston around 1822. John was in business with Uriah as a mason and builder. He married Mary White, daughter of Robert and Catherine White. They had three children: John, Jr., born 1853; Samuel, born ca. 1855; and Molly, born ca. 1864. John died 2 November 1883.
Sources
Alonso, Harriet Hyman. Growing Up Garrison: The Story of the Garrison Children. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2002.
New England Historic Genealogical Society. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 40. Boston: NEHGS, 1886.
Collection Description
The Garrison family papers consists of 43 document boxes and 1 oversize box of manuscripts, printed material, and 167 manuscript and printed volumes. They document the Garrison family and their families by marriage, the Anthony and Ritchie families, mainly from 1849-1919. The collection is organized into 13 series. The bulk of the material pertains to George Thompson Garrison and John Ritchie.
George Thompson Garrison's papers include extensive series of his diaries, which span 1854-1903, and correspondence, mainly with his parents, siblings, and wife, as well as friends and associates. They cover his time in Nininger, Minnesota (1857-1858) and Lawrence, Kansas (1858-1859) and detail news from friends who continued to write to him about the development and decline of Nininger, as well as the turmoil during the Bleeding Kansas period. Diaries and letters also detail his service in the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War and include his insights, details on camp life, troop movements, and skirmishes, and later life events and business dealings. Other material for George Thompson Garrison includes his personal and professional papers, ephemera, materials relating to the 55th Mass. Infantry Regiment, and volumes.
Material from other members of the Garrison family include letters from George's father William Lloyd Garrison and his siblings and their families, William Lloyd Garrison, Jr., Wendell Phillips Garrison, Helen Frances "Fanny" Garrison Villard, and Francis Jackson Garrison. Material for George's wife Annie Keene Anthony Garrison, children Rhodes Anthony Garrison and Fanny Garrison, and daughter-in-law Marianne Baehrecke Garrison is also present. Material includes correspondence, personal and family papers, news clippings, and ephemera.
Also in the collection are papers from John Gould Anthony, Anne Whitney Rhodes Anthony, and Elizabeth Lyell Anthony. It includes correspondence, financial records, personal and professional papers, genealogical research, poetry, writings, autograph albums, diaries, ledgers, and account books.
John Ritchie's papers include correspondence mainly between him and his father Uriah Ritchie, sister Elizabeth Ritchie, and brother-in-law John Allen Lewis, as well as friends and associates. It covers his early travels, service in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, life events, and professional matters. Other material includes personal and professional papers, financial records, ephemera, material pertaining to the 54th Mass. Infantry Regiment, and volumes, particularly his diaries which span his service in the 54th. Civil War correspondence and diaries discuss John's insights, troop movements, camp life, and skirmishes. He pays considerable attention to the pay dispute for Black soldiers and the resistance of the Army to promote and muster them in as officers.
Papers of Rosa Gertrude Schoepffer Ritchie, Uriah Ritchie, Elizabeth Ritchie Lewis, John Allen Lewis, and John Ritchie (ca. 1801-1883) consist of correspondence, personal papers, estate papers, family papers, diaries, and other volumes.
Acquisition Information
Gift of the descendants of George and Fred Garrison, September 2020.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. George Thompson Garrison papers, 1836-1948; bulk: 1851-1904
This series contains GTG's correspondence, personal and professional papers, diaries, and materials relating to the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.
A. Correspondence, 1836-1904
This subseries consists of correspondence between George Thompson Garrison and family members, including William Lloyd Garrison, business associates, and friends. Letters cover George's time in Nininger, Minnesota (1857-1858) and Lawrence, Kansas (1858-1859); service in the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War; life events; and business matters. Correspondents include William Baylies Reed, Henry Egbert Benson, Edward Payson Harris, Rev. William Henry Fish, Samuel May, Jr., Samuel Forster Tappan, Charles A. Hovey, Richard Barnes Merritt, James Manning Winchell Yerrinton, Thomas Bradford Drew, Mary Holbrook Mills Drew, A. W. Macdonald, and Solomon Bates Starbird. Also included are informal notes from Wendell Phillips, George Thompson, and other abolitionists.
Letters between GTG and brother William from 1857-1859 contain a few articles written by William under the pseudonym "Egbert" for the Emigrant Aid Journal and Lawrence Republican. Letters from GTG's friends in Kansas provide news about his friends, local events, Kansas' political atmosphere, and details about violence in the state as seen in a February 1860 letter from Edward Payson Harris describing a group of men attempting to kidnap a Black woman named Lizzie on behalf of her enslaver, as well as the Lawrence Massacre led by William Quantrill described in a letter from Henry Egbert Benson, who was inside the Eldridge House when it was attacked. Civil War letters (1863-1865) detail camp life, fellow soldiers, troop movements, skirmishes of the 55th, GTG's duties as regimental quartermaster, and his insights and opinions on these events. Also discussed is the illness and death of Leonard Case Alden and the unequal pay of the Black soldiers.
i. Personal correspondence, 1836-1904
ii. Correspondence with William Lloyd Garrison, 1854-1877
Letters from WLG discuss GTG's schooling; his concern that GTG uphold his moral values while living in Nininger, Minn. and Lawrence, Kan.; fear that he will travel to Pike's Peak to prospect; and his attempts to entice his son back home with a position at The Liberator. Civil War letters include WLG's attempt to dissuade GTG from accepting his commission for the 55th Mass. Regiment and later acceptance that GTG is doing what he feels he must to be true to himself. He updates GTG on events at home, his travels, some mentions of the anti-slavery movement, current events, politics, and the progress of the war. Some pages share messages from other members of the Garrison family.
GTG's letters to his father begin during his service in the 55th. He details camp life, sickness experienced by most of the soldiers, troop movements, skirmishes, his duties as regimental quartermaster, and requests for supplies from home.
iii. Illness and death of William Lloyd Garrison, May 1879
iv. Excerpt transcriptions, 1869-1889
Excerpts from letters written by GTG where he describes his family life, in particular his children Elisabeth, Rhodes Anthony, and Fanny, compiled and typed ca. 1992.
B. Personal papers, 1851-1904
Arranged chronologically.
George Thompson Garrison's personal papers include school composition work; personal financial records; bonds; calling cards; tickets to local events, such as anti-slavery bazaars and lectures; deeds, property taxes, and sales in Nininger, Minn. and West Newton, Mass.; memoranda mostly relating to household operations; his visit to the Pacific Northwest via railroad in 1880; news clippings; and his obituaries.
C. Professional papers, 1860-1896
Arranged chronologically.
The professional papers of George Thompson Garrison consist of receipts for printing editions of The Liberator by local Boston printers; James Henry Holmes' debt to GTG for printing supplies and machinery; insurance claims for the loss of GTG's paper box manufacturing business in the Boston Fire of 1872; securities and stock for Northern Pacific Railroad held in trust for his children; a ledger for Garrison and Howe; and ephemera pertaining to GTG's businesses.
D. 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 1863-1948
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains material for the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during and after the Civil War. It includes letters from former soldiers of the 55th seeking GTG's assistance with pension claims; speeches and publications by 55th Mass. surgeon Burt G. Wilder about the regiment; GTG's own accounts of St. James Island and the Battle of Honey Hill; Association of Officers of the 55th Mass. Regiment meeting invitations, programs, and resolutions; and invitations and programs for the 1887 Reunion of Colored Veterans and the 25th anniversary of Fort Wagner.
Requests for assistance in filing pension claims from former soldiers of the 55th are mainly from Company I. Claimants who contacted GTG for his testimony to corroborate their claim include Charles Crummer, Robert J. Smith, John Lyles, George S. White, John Silence, James P. Thorn, George R. Rome, James M. Wallace, Armstead Percell, Alfred Wood, George M. Williams, Benjamin Butler, George W. Sweeney, David Sampson, William Morrison, Charles Gilson, John H. Stewart, William Harris, Rowan Wickliffe, Olmstead Turner, Dr. Warren M. Babbitt, Henry Coleman, John Boyd, and Elisha Tappan.
E. Volumes, 1854-1903
Arranged chronologically.
The volumes of GTG include his lifetime diaries which detail his time in Nininger, Minn. and Lawrence, Kan. and his service with the 55th Mass. Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. Also included is the ledger for his box manufacturing business that was destroyed in the Boston Fire of 1872, index of scrapbooks donated to Smith College, and an account book for the administration of the Stetson family estate by GTG.
GTG's Civil War diaries (May 1863-April 1865) detail camp life while on Morris Island and Folly Island; troop movements; and skirmishes and expeditions in South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, including the Battles of Honey Hill and St. James Island. As regimental quartermaster, he includes some personal and regimental accounting of money and resources. He also discusses sickness soldiers experienced in the South, weather, the death of Leonard Case Alden, updates on the conditions and promotions of soldiers he knew, and brief mentions of news from home. GTG's later diaries detail his courtship, engagement, and marriage to Annie Keene Anthony Garrison; their home life with their children; his work; and some personal and household accounting.
i. Diaries, 1854-1903
On microfilm, P-817, reel 1.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 4.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 4.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 1.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 1.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 1.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 1.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 1.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 1.
ii. Business ledger, 1872
iii. Scrapbook index, 1883, 1901
iv. Stetson family account book, 1886-1890
II. Annie Keene Anthony Garrison papers, 1855-1922
Arranged chronologically.
This series consists of the correspondence, personal papers, financial volumes, and diaries of Annie Keene Anthony Garrison, the wife of George Thompson Garrison. It spans her time living in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Cambridgeport and West Newton, Mass. The bulk of the material is correspondence from Annie's immediate family and friends and includes extended Garrison, Anthony, and Benson family members; Anna E. Benson Percy at the Theosophical Society community at Point Loma, California; and decades-long correspondence with friend Caroline H. Allen Withenbury. Correspondents also include Waldo Cornwell Booth and William Shattuck Sampson, Jr. while serving in the 5th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and 137th Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiments during the Civil War.
Diary entries are brief and mainly mention visits made and received, outings with friends and family, her health, correspondence, the weather, and her courtship with George Thompson Garrison in 1872. Some personal accounting is included at the end of most diaries.
A. Correspondence and personal papers, 1855-1922
B. Volumes, 1855-1876
i. Autograph book, 1855-1860
ii. Diaries, 1859-1872
iii. Ledger, 1860-1876
III. William Lloyd Garrison papers, 1849-1962digital content
Arranged chronologically.
This series contains the correspondence, personal papers, and commemorative printed material of William Lloyd Garrison. The bulk of the material consists of tributes and commemorations written about WLG following his death, the 100th anniversary of his birth, and the 100th anniversary of the founding of The Liberator. Included in birth centennial material is the full edition of the Guardian, "America's Greatest Race Journal," vol. V no. 7, 16 December 1905, which includes event descriptions and photographs of prominent members of the Black community who participated in the celebrations.
A. Mitchell's School Atlas, Third Revised Edition, undated
B. Correspondence, 1849-1851, 1865
Correspondence consists of letters from Sophia Foord to Sarah Benson requesting the latter's attendance to the Norfolk County Anti-Slavery Convention with WLG; Rev. William Henry Fish of Hopedale, Mass. arranging for GTG to board at his home; Joseph Barker on his family's move from England to Ohio, expressing his desire to be involved in the American anti-slavery movement; and from S. Waterhouse of Ellsworth, Maine writing about John Thomas, a freedman, who WLG helped arrange to live with the Waterhouse family.
C. Personal papers, 1853-1859, 1878-1879
The personal papers of WLG include the proceedings of a presentation given by William C. Nell at the Southac Street Church in Boston in 1855 on equal school rights in the city, at which WLG gave an address; an extract of the will of Charles F. Hovey naming WLG a recipient of funds from his estate; dinner program honoring WLG by the New England Franklin Club in 1878; list of WLG articles written for the Independent; news articles written about WLG; and memorial ephemera.
D. Obituaries, 1879
E. Tributes, 1879-1880
F. Commemorations, 1896, 1903, 1915, 1962
G. Centennial of birth, 1905digital content
H. Centennial of founding of The Liberator, 1930-1931
IV. William Lloyd Garrison, Jr. personal papers, 1854-1909
Arranged chronologically.
This series consists of correspondence, writings, and poetry of William Lloyd Garrison, Jr. Poetry marks the occasions of the 73rd and 75th birthdays of Sarah Allibone McKim and the 25th wedding anniversary of WLG, Jr. and Ellen Wright Garrison.
V. Wendell Phillips Garrison family papers, 1863-1915
Arranged chronologically.
The family papers of Wendell Phillips Garrison include correspondence to WPG and a program for the 1904 dedication of the William Lloyd Garrison Ward at St. Monica's Home in the former Garrison family home "Rockledge" in Roxbury, Mass. Correspondents include John White Chadwick, W. Henry Winslow, George P. Guerrier on the death of GTG, and a detailed 1902 letter from cousin Anna E. Benson Percy describing the Theosophical Society community at Point Loma, California. Also included is a memorial book for Sarah Allibone McKim and material relating to Lloyd McKim Garrison's school days, in particular his booklet "Ballads of Harvard," and death.
VI. Helen Frances Garrison Villard family papers, 1865-1948
Arranged chronologically.
This series contains correspondence, new clippings, and ephemera of Helen Frances Garrison Villard and her family, including husband Henry Villard and sons Oswald and Henry. Ephemera consists of invitations and programs honoring HV and celebrating the opening the Northern Pacific Railroad in St. Paul, Minn.; Bismarck, N.D.; and Portland, Ore.
VII. Francis Jackson Garrison family papers, 1882-1916
Arranged chronologically.
The Francis Jackson Garrison family papers series consists of correspondence and memorial ephemera of FJG, his wife Mary Pratt Garrison, infant daughter Ruth Phillips Garrison, and second wife Theresa Holmes Garrison. Correspondents include Caroline Wells Healey Dall, John W. Chadwick, Louisa Storrow Cabot Richardson, and Dora Taft Taylor Brigham on the death of GTG.
VIII. Rhodes Anthony Garrison personal papers, 1911-1947
Arranged chronologically.
The personal papers of Rhodes Anthony Garrison include material relating to his participation in the 50th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation celebration at the Park Street Church, a booklet for the centennial of Wendell Phillips' birth, and travel ephemera. Also included is correspondence from family and Burt G. Wilder regarding GTG's accounts of the 55th Mass. Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.
IX. Fanny Garrison correspondence, 1903-1904
Arranged chronologically.
This series mainly consists of sympathy letters from family and friends to Fanny Garrison on the death of her father George Thompson Garrison. Correspondents include Ruth Huntington Sessions and Mary Louise Brewster Southwick.
X. Marianne Baehrecke Garrison correspondence, 1905-1936
Arranged chronologically.
The bulk of this series consists of letters from John Ritchie, mostly as he vacationed in Cottage City on Martha's Vineyard, Dresden, Germany; and at his cottage in Jackson, N.H. He addressed some letters to MBG's children with simple illustrations. Personal correspondence contains letters in German from family and sympathies on the death of John Ritchie.
A. Correspondence from John Ritchie, 1905-June 1908
B. Personal correspondence, 1905-1919, 1936
XI. James Holley Garrison papers, 1817
Arranged chronologically.
1817 edition of Poems by Lord Byron, published by Thomas Kirk, Thomas R. Mercein, Moses Thomas, M. Carey and Son, Philadelphia; Wells and Lilly, Boston; and Cole and Maxwell, Baltimore. Inscribed as being a gift from his sister Mary in Brooklyn, Connecticut, likely Mary Benson. Includes JHG's annotations.
XII. Anthony family papers, 1833-1922
This series includes the personal, professional, legal, and financial papers of members of the Anthony family. Included are bound volumes of diaries, autograph albums, and genealogical research.
A. John Gould Anthony papers, 1833-1879, 1905
This subseries contains the correspondence, personal, professional, and financial papers, and volumes of John Gould Anthony.
i. Correspondence, 1837-1877
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence consists of personal and professional letters, mainly relating to JGA's silversmith and jewelry businesses of Allen, Rhodes & Co.; Rhodes, Anthony, and Carley; and Rhodes and Anthony in Cincinnati, Ohio. Included is a note of introduction by Helen Frances Garrison Villard to Sarah. J. Nowell, a thank you note from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and note from Charles Edward Beddome about the Aboriginal peoples of Australia.
ii. Personal papers, 1833-1905
Arranged chronologically.
Personal papers of JGA include the 1833 charter and by-laws of the Providence Franklin Society, words spoken at the funeral of Robert F. Denyer, JGA's poetry and writings, Anthony family genealogical research, records regarding the First Congregational Church of Cincinnati, and material pertaining to his death. Also included is JGA's autograph collection consisting of letters to Dr. John Edward Gray from contemporary scientists; letters to a Mrs. Hooker from artists Thomas Woolner, William Boxall, and John Everett Millais; and signatures of U.S. politicians.
Autograph collection, 1836-1865
iii. Professional papers, 1835-1874
Arranged chronologically.
Professional papers of JGA contain promissory notes and receipts, mainly for JGA's silversmith and jewelry businesses of Allen, Rhodes & Co.; Rhodes, Anthony, and Carley; and Rhodes and Anthony in Cincinnati, Ohio; additionally for dues and operation fees for the Western Academy of Natural Sciences. Included are documents pertaining to money and deeds for land in Shalersville, Orange, and Garrettsville (in oversize box) in Ohio received from Timothy Mularkey. Also included is an indenture for land in Dayton, Ohio from Franklin and Emmeline Thorpe.
iv. Volumes, 1859-1877
Arranged chronologically.
The volumes of JGA consist of personal account, cash, and bank books; a diary kept during the 1865 Thayer expedition to Brazil with Louis Agassiz; a memorial scrapbook made by GTG; JGA's personal handwritten German dictionary; and genealogies of the descendants of John Anthonie, Abraham Anthony, William Anthony, and Daniel Anthony of Rhode Island.
B. Anne Whitney Rhodes Anthony papers, 1841-1899
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains the correspondence, financial records, and material pertaining to the death and estate administration of Anne Whitney Rhodes Anthony. Correspondence is mainly from family members but includes letters from William Greene Binney, Thomas Bland, James Mortimer Southwick, John Howard Redfield, and Moncure Daniel Conway on the death of her husband JGA.
i. Correspondence, 1841-1896
ii. Receipts, 1880-1892
iii. Death, 1898
iv. Estate, 1899
C. Elizabeth Lyell Anthony papers, 1866-1922
This subseries contains the correspondence, legal documents, autograph albums, and travel diary of Elizabeth Lyell Anthony. Included are letters from ELA's namesake, Mary Elizabeth Horner Lyell. The 1919 autograph album was a gift from ELA's colleagues at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology upon her retirement and contains signatures of the scientists and staff she worked with.
i. Correspondence, 1866-1912
ii. Legal papers, 1912, 1922
iii. Volumes, 1884-1919
D. Miscellaneous family papers, 1808-1901
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains the papers of miscellaneous Anthony family members. It includes correspondence for Joseph Anthony, Mary Gould Anthony, Charles Keene Rhodes, John Francis Anthony from brother Edward Rhodes Anthony, Hannah Lewis Anthony from Rev. George Eaves on the death of her son John Gould Anthony, and Alice Keene Rhodes Hill from cousin H. F. Keene. Also included is Frances Abida Rhodes Hill's composition notebook and documents for the administration of the estate of Abida Keene.
XIII. Ritchie family papers, 1599-1949; bulk: 1852-1919
This series contains the correspondence, personal, legal, financial, and family papers, diaries, and business ledgers for the Ritchie family.
A. John Ritchie papers, 1852-1919
This subseries contains John Ritchie's correspondence, personal papers, bound volumes, and material for the 54th Massachusetts Regiment during the Civil War.
i. Correspondence, 1855-1917
Arranged chronologically.
The correspondence of John Ritchie consists of letters between him and his family, friends, and associates. It covers his travels, Civil War service in the 54th Mass. Regiment (1863-1865), life events, and business and real estate matters. Civil War letters discuss JR's personal insights, camp life, regiment movements, engagements, casualties, and pay dispute for Black soldiers, and the Army's resistance to promoting them. He also details arranging the return of the personal effects of Leonard Case Alden to his family following his death, as well as those of Garth Wilkinson James following injuries he sustained at Fort Wagner. Correspondents include members of the Garrison, Poole, Alden-Vinton, and Rand families; Edward Needles Hallowell; Garth Wilkinson James; John Whittier Messer Appleton; Thomas Larkin Appleton; Francis Lee Higginson; Carleton Atwood Shurtleff; Reuben Tomlinson; and George Thompson.
ii. Personal papers, 1855-1919
Arranged chronologically.
John Ritchie's personal papers include petitions to Harvard College to submit a speech by Wendell Phillips for an exhibition, his marriage certificate, a lawsuit regarding the sale of land on Broadway and 26th Street in New York City, and JR's will. Programs for family Thanksgivings provide family current events and history. Poems by JR are mainly for Rosa Gertrude Schoepffer Ritchie.
iii. 54th Massachusetts Regiment, 1863-1897
Arranged chronologically.
Ephemera for the 54th Massachusetts Regiment includes newspaper clippings, pamphlets of general orders for the courts-martial of Wallace Baker of the 55th Mass. Infantry Regiment and John Smith of the 41st New York. Also included is the invitation for the 1887 Reunion of Colored Veterans of the 54th and 55th Infantry, and 5th Cavalry Regiments, and Sailors. The prisoners of war list is a partial account of Black soldiers and sailors held at Charleston, South Carolina, with notes on date of capture.
iv. Volumes, 1852-1904
Arranged chronologically.
Pocket diaries, 1852-1867
Included in John Ritchie's diaries are accounts of his early travels in Massachusetts, New York, Chicago, and Europe. A short family history and biography are included at the end of his 1861 diary. Diaries kept throughout his service in the 54th Mass. Regiment during the Civil War (1863-1865) discuss camp life, the weather, troop movements, skirmishes, the health of fellow soldiers, and news from home. They also contain addresses, leave of absence requests, and financial accounts for soldiers and the regiment kept by JR as regimental quartermaster.
Travel diaries, 1854-1911
Included in travel diaries is the account of JR's walking tour of western Massachusetts and eastern New York with Wendell Phillips Garrison in the summer of 1859. Also included are the voyages of the Caroline, a yacht named after Caroline Poole Ritchie, after her death. The first voyage was on the Merrimac and Connecticut Rivers, and the second followed the Providence River into Narragansett Bay. They also detail his courtship and engagement to Rosa Gertrude Schoepffer Ritchie in 1876.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 6.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 6.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 6.
Business account book, 1859-1876
Business cash books, 1859-1873
54th Mass. Regiment diary, 1863-1865
Regiment diary is in a partially used receipt book taken from a shop in Darien, Georgia following the town's destruction by Union troops in June of 1863. Repurposed as a diary, it contains a full account of the regiment during the war, with some of John Ritchie's personal notes. Pasted into the diary are news clippings, a hand-drawn map of the route to Darien, and a camp layout at St. Simon's Island, Georgia and Morris Island, South Carolina.
On microfilm, P-817, reel 11.
Business ledgers, 1866-1890
Memoranda, 1871-1889
News clippings book, 1871, 1881, undated
Correspondence index, 1876-1885
Includes correspondence for both John Ritchie and Rosa Gertrude Schoepffer Ritchie.
Bicycle trips, 1889-1897
Diaries detail route and distance travelled, weather conditions, stops, and travel companions.
Scrapbooks, 1901-1904
John Ritchie's scrapbooks highlight places that JR travelled to and mainly contain clippings from newspapers, magazines, and promotional material. The 1901-1904 scrapbook consists of passenger lists, maps, and programs for the S.S. Columbia, S.S. Moltke, and S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm II. The ca. 1903 scrapbook covers Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Atlantic City, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. The 1903-1904 scrapbook covers the Hudson River Valley, the Adirondacks, Lake Placid, Springfield, Mass., Niagara Falls, and the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. Also, in this scrapbook are photographs of Cottage City on Martha's Vineyard, including JR and his cottage on the corner of Seaview Ave. and Canonicus Ave.
B. Rosa Gertrude Schoepffer Ritchie, 1599-1949; bulk: 1876-1949
This subseries contains the correspondence, personal and family papers, and volumes of Rosa Gertrude Schoepffer Ritchie. Personal correspondence is mainly in German.
i. Correspondence, 1876-1949
Arranged chronologically.
ii. Personal papers, 1845-1936
Arranged chronologically.
Included in Rosa Gertrude Schoepffer Ritchie's personal papers is an autograph collection which contains letters from Carl Schumann to Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann to Pauline Schumann, and a letter from Franz Liszt. Other autographs include members from the 1897 season of the Bayreuth Festival, including Siegfried Wagner.
iii. Family papers, 1599, 1826-1921
Arranged chronologically.
Included in family papers are Hector August Friedrich Schoeppfer's correspondence and poem written by him in German. Material for Johanna Marie Schoepffer Baehrecke consists of documents brought to enter the U.S. in 1921. They provide some family history and genealogy.
iv. Volumes, 1789-1927; bulk: 1890-1927
C. Uriah Ritchie papers, 1818, 1864-1867
This subseries contains the personal papers of Uriah Ritchie and includes a letter from George Thompson discussing his 1864 lecture tour after he left UR's home where he had stayed for five months. Also included are documents pertaining to the administration of UR's estate following his death. The two-volume Bible was printed by Sir D. Hunter Blair and J. Bruce in Edinburgh in 1818 and includes some handwritten annotations.
D. Elizabeth Ritchie Lewis estate, 1886-1904
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries consists of papers used in the administration of Elizabeth Ritchie Lewis' estate by her brother John Ritchie.
E. John Allen Lewis papers, 1869-1885
Included in the personal papers of John Allen Lewis is a letter to the New England Historic Genealogical Society with a basic descendent chart of the Lewis and Gorham families of Barnstable, Mass. Diaries note JAL's daily activities and include letters he received, visitors, visits made by JAL, social engagements, trips, weather, rent collection, and some personal accounting.
F. John Ritchie (ca. 1801-1883) papers, 1883
Funeral booklet for John Ritchie which includes remarks made by Rev. Edward Otheman during the service.
Preferred Citation
Garrison 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.
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Materials Removed from the Collection
Photographs from this collection have been removed to the Garrison family photographs.
Printed materials have been removed to the MHS Printed Materials collection.