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Howe family papers

 Collection
Identifier: Ax 051

Scope and Contents

The Howe Family papers collection contains diaries, correspondence photographs, and genealogical papers of the Howe family, manuscripts by Herbert C. Howe, and a ledger of the Oswego Canal Company of New York.

Material by Herbert Howe includes diaries, letters to his sister, Lillian and to his wife, Georgia Emeny. His weekly letters to Lillian Howe contain a detailed recital of events at Fulton Academy, Cornell University, and the University of Oregon. There is also an autobiography from 1889, the year his father died. Professor Howe was a popular lecturer, writer, and essayist. The papers include manuscript poems, short stories, plays, two novels (one autobiographical), addresses, essays, lectures, student papers, class papers from Fulton Academy days, and Cornell class notebooks.

Material for Lillian Howe, Henry Clay Howe, and Letitia How includes diaries and letters, most of which is correspondence between one another. Howe family material includes genealogical data, photographs, and mementos. The photographs include ten glass-plate negatives, portraits, and ten prints primarily portraits of Herbert C. Howe and snapshots of him on campus. There is one print from the UO tour of Hollywood from the 1917 Rose Bowl visit.

Additionally, there is a one-volume ledger of the Oswego Canal Co. The ledger has been used as a scrapbook but is still legible for canal company data.

Dates

  • Creation: 1859-1939

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time. Glass plate negatives and lantern slides are restricted due to the fragility of the format. All decisions regarding use will be at the discretion of the curator for visual materials.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Biographical / Historical

The Howe family is comprised of Henry Clay Howe (1832-1889) and his wife Letitia, their son Herbert C. Howe (1872-1940) and daughter Lillian Howe.

Henry Clay Howe (Herbert's father) was a graduate of Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, read law, was an attorney in Fulton, N.Y., an active Republican, a supporter of Frank Hiscock for U. S. Senator, and a member of the New York Assembly from 1885 to 1887.

Herbert C. Howe (1872-1940) was born in Fulton, New York, and educated at Fulton Academy and Cornell University. From 1894 to 1900 he was a graduate scholar at Cornell and assistant to Jacob Gould Schurman, third president of Cornell. In 1901 he came to the University of Oregon as assistant professor of English and remained until 1940; from 1904 to 1925 Howe was head of the Department of English.

Lillian Howe was a student at the Academy of Mount St. Vincent, West Albany, New York. from 1879 to 1881, and from 1882 to 1884 a student at Houghton Academy, Clinton, New York. She later worked in the Boston Public Library, was on the editorial staff of Mentor, and was a secretary for the National Association of Woolen Manufacturers in Boston, Massachusetts.

Extent

11.25 linear feet (10 containers)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Howe family comprises Henry Clay Howe (1832-1889) and his wife Letitia, their son Herbert C. Howe (1872-1940) and daughter Lillian Howe. The collection contains diaries, correspondence, photographs, and genealogical papers of the Howe family, manuscripts by Herbert C. Howe, and a ledger of the Oswego Canal Company of NY.

Other Finding Aids

Paper finding aid with additional information is available in Special Collections and University Archives.

Physical Description

7 record storage boxes and 1 clamshell; 2 photoboxes

Processing Information

Collection processed by staff, 1968; photographs processed by Megan Dazey.

This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

Title
Guide to the Howe Family Papers
Status
Revise Description
Author
Finding aid prepared by University of Oregon Libraries, Archivists' Toolkit Project Team and Tanya Parlet.
Date
2012
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.
Sponsor
Funding for production of this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Repository Details

Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403-1299 USA