Overview
John Abbot Emery was born on September 20, 1818, to Robert Emery and his third wife, Mary Lyman Emery. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire before entering Harvard College in 1839 with the Class of 1843, but died during his senior year on October 8, 1842. The collection consists of twenty-three letters relating to John Abbot Emery and the Emery family, along with the notice of John Abbot Emery's election in the Institute of 1770 and a first day of issue cover of a Daniel Webster stamp, October 24, 1932.
Dates
- Creation: 1838-1849, 1932, and undated
Creator
- Emery, John Abbot, d. 1842. (Person)
Conditions on Use and Access
The Papers of John Abbot Emery and the Emery family are open for research use.
Extent
0.22 cubic feet (1 half legal document box)The collection consists of twenty-three letters relating to John Abbot Emery and the Emery family. It contains six letters written by John as an undergraduate student to his father, brother, and sister-in law; four letters written to John as a student at Phillips Exeter from friends at Harvard; one letter written to John as an undergraduate student at Harvard from a cousin; three letters written to Emery's father, brother, and sister after John's death, including one from members of Harvard's Society for Religious Improvement; and nine family letters, all written after John’s death. The collection also includes the notice of John Abbot Emery's election to the Institute of 1770.
A first day of issue cover of a Daniel Webster stamp, dated October 24, 1932, is also included in the collection; the connection of this item to the Emery family is unclear.
Biographical note
John Abbot Emery was born on September 20, 1818, to Robert Emery and his third wife, Mary Lyman Emery. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire before entering Harvard College in 1839 with the Class of 1843. While at Harvard, he was the secretary of the Institute of 1770 and president of the Society for Religious Improvement. Emery died during his senior year on October 8, 1842, after a short illness.
John Abbot Emery’s father, Robert Emery, was born on September 23, 1773. On July 7, 1795, he married Eunice Orne, who died on July 10, 1796. They had one child, Margaret Theresa Emery, who was born on May 12, 1796 and died on August 1865. On December 16, 1800, Robert Emery married Sarah Barnard, who died on September 25, 1809: they had three children, none who lived past infancy. In 1815, Robert Emery married Mary Lyman Emery. They had three children who lived past infancy: Charles Emery, born on July 1, 1816, John Abbot, born on September 20, 1818, and Mary Lyman, born on August 12, 1821. On November 1, 1840, Charles Emery married Susan Hilton Kelly. They had eleven children, including their eldest, Mary Abbot, born on February 23, 1843.
Arrangement
The items are arranged in chronological order.
Acquisition information
The Papers of John Abbot Emery and the Emery family were received through donation. The terms of acquisition are noted in the item list below.
- Fine money, March 30, 1928
- Miss Emery, March 15, 1979
- Accession 17885: Todd A. Heering, August 12, 2008
- Accession 18340: Richard Vangermeersch, March 2010.
Inventory upate
This document last updated 2019 January 14.
Superseded call numbers
The call number for all material in the Papers of John Abbot Emery and the Emery Family is now HUM 113. To assist researchers in identifying materials noted in previous citations, the list below provides references from obsolete call numbers to new box and folder numbers. Please use the current call number, HUM 113, with the appropriate box and folder number in place of the superseded call number when citing material from this collection.
Formerly HUD 838.94
- See HUM 113 Box 1, Folder 1 Letter from William A. White, Cambridge, to John A. Emery, Exeter, NH, July 8, 1838
Formerly HUG 300 Emery, John Abbot
- See HUM 113 Box 1, Folder 7 Notice of election to the Institute of 1770, January 1840
- See HUM 113 Box 1, Folder 14 Letter from Edward Gassett to Charles Emery, Exeter, New Hampshire, October 31, [1842]
- See HUM 113 Box 1, Folder 18 Letter from Jane Sedgwick, Stockbridge, to Miss [Mary Lyman] Emery, August 23, [1843]
Processing Note
Juliana Kuipers processed this collection in November 2011. Processing involved a collection survey, rehousing items in appropriate archival containers, and the creation of this finding aid.
Creator
- Emery, John Abbot, d. 1842. (Person)
- Title
- Emery, John Abbot, d. 1842. Papers of John Abbot Emery and the Emery family, 1838-1849, 1932, and undated : an inventory
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua57011
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
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