Papers of the Cabot family, 1786-2013

Collection includes letters, diaries, and travel journals, etc., of four generations of the Cabot family of Boston, Massachusetts. The bulk of the collection documents the lives of James Elliot Cabot and his wife Elisabeth (Dwight) Cabot and includes Thomas Handasyd Perkins' letters and records on the slave, tea and, spice trades (1786-1840). Additional material received 1993-2014 (accession numbers: 93-M101, 98-M31, 2014-M26 ) were added to the collection in December 2015. These materials are housed in #166-218.

SERIES I, EARLY FAMILY PAPERS, 1786-1878 (#1-9, Volumes 1-3a), includes extracts from the letter books of Perkins, Burling & Co, and other partnerships of Thomas Handasyd Perkins and J.H. Perkins re: trade in slaves, tea, spices, etc., with later additions regarding the family by James Elliot Cabot. Also included is family correspondence and the reminiscences of Eliza (Perkins) Cabot which describe Boston, Massachusetts, after the American Revolution and into the nineteenth century.

SERIES II, ELISABETH DWIGHT CABOT (Mrs. James Elliot Cabot), 1844-1902 (#10-55, Volumes 4-8), includes mostly correspondence and diaries. Most correspondence is between Cabot and her husband and sister, Ellen Twisleton. Correspondence between Cabot and her husband regards news about their children and families, and descriptions of a camping trip to Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks (1886), as well as a small number of courtship letters. Correspondence between Cabot and her sister includes comments on Boston life, including household maintenance, family news, and Cabot family land in Brookline, Massachusetts, and on the Civil War. Her diaries includes comments on her studies, visits with friends and family, child care, domestic duties, etc.

SERIES III, JAMES ELLIOT CABOT, 1838-1903 (#56-126, Volumes 9-12a), consists of correspondence; awards and degrees; journals; papers from his studies in Germany; photographs; wills, estate, and land records; a scrapbook; etc. The bulk of the series consists of correspondence, much of which is with his wife, Elisabeth Dwight Cabot, and includes commentary on their children and families, his travels in the western United States and in Europe, etc. Other correspondence is with family members and friends, and includes notable correspondents such as Henry David Thoreau, Theodore Parker, James Russell Lowell, Frederick Law Olmsted, Louis Agassiz, Charles Eliot Norton, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. This correspondence often includes descriptions of his work, philosophical discussions, etc. The series also includes a number of travel journals, documenting Elliot's trip to the mid-west (1840), to Europe (1840-1843), and from New York to Le Havre, Cuba? (1840), which includes descriptions of the slave trade. Additional descriptions of his time in Germany (1840-1841) can be found in his correspondence with his aunt, Eliza Follen (#67). Also included are reminiscences written by Cabot for his son Charles that include descriptions of Boston and Nahant, Massachusetts, during his childhood, of his parents and other relatives, and of travels to Europe. Cabot's will, estate papers, and land records are also included and describe the contents of his estate after his death, records of land in Beverly Farms and Brookline, Massachusetts, and burial plots in Walnut Hills Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts. Other material consists of assignments, course catalogs, and translations maintained by Cabot during his study in Germany and include notes taken at the course of lectures given in Berlin, Germany, by Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling in 1842 and a manuscript translation of Schelling's "Philosophical Inquiries into the Nature of Human Freedom and Matters Concerning Therewith," by Cabot. See Series VI, Volumes 26-30 for Cabot's sketch books.

Series IV. RALPH WALDO EMERSON, 1845-1887 (#122-126, Volumes 13-13a), includes letters and notes to Ralph Waldo Emerson from James Elliot Cabot, Rev. C. A. Bartol, and D.A. Wasson, and from his family to James Elliot Cabot; manuscript fragments and clippings of Emerson's poetry; and letters received by James Elliot Cabot regarding his Memoir of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The bulk of letters from Emerson's family regards Cabot's writing of his memoir of Emerson and his work as Emerson's literary executor. Letters received from others regarding the memoir are generally congratulatory letters on its publication. Letters sent to Emerson discuss the loaning and discussion of books, his availability for speaking engagements, and invitations to visit. One letter of interest is a letter from James Elliot Cabot discussing whether Walt Whitman should be considered a poet or a philosopher, and further discussions on the merit of the book, after reading a borrowed volume of Leaves of Grass.

SERIES V. EDWARD TWISLETON CABOT, ARTHUR TRACY CABOT, RICHARD CLARK CABOT, HUGH CABOT, AND MARY ANDERSON (BOIT) CABOT, 1852-1925 (#127-135, Volumes 14-23b) includes biographical material, photographs, correspondence, diaries, articles, etc., of several family members. Biographical material consists of published memorials, lists of accomplishments, etc. of Edward Twisleton Cabot, Arthur Tracy Cabot, and Richard Clark Cabot. Also included are published medical articles by Richard Clark Cabot and Hugh Cabot. One diary kept by Mary Anderson (Boit) Cabot document her childhood years and documents her school experiences, time with friends and family, and includes photographs, drawings, and watercolors done by herself and friends and family members. Later diaries document the care of her children during infancy. Travel journals kept by Mary Anderson (Boit) Cabot document a European trip taken by Cabot and her daughter Mary (1896-1898) and a round-the world trip and cruise of Hawaii (1924-1925). Also included is a photograph album of the Boit family maintained by Mary Anderson (Boit) Cabot.

SERIES VI. GEORGIA BOIT GIERASCH (also known as Georgia Mercer Boit or Mrs. Walter Gierasch, sister of Mary Anderson Boit Cabot) AND GEORGIA MERCER, 1776-1934 (#136-137b, Volume 24-24a) includes a diary, will, and poems. The diary of Georgia Mercer of Savannah, Georgia, documents the life of a young women, her social engagements with friends and young men and her interactions with family. Other material in this series consists of the will of Hugh Mercer (1776) and the published and unpublished poems of Georgia Mercer Boit, sister of Mary Anderson (Boit) Cabot.

SERIES VII. HUGH CABOT, JR. AND LOUISE CABOT (MRS. HUGH CABOT, JR.), 1911-1946 (#138-150a, 165cb-165a, Volumes 25-30) , includes correspondence; a diary; photographs; sketch books; etc. The bulk of the series consists of letters from the parents and relatives of two English children, John and Clare Stephens, who the Cabots "adopted" for the duration of World War II sent to both the children and the Cabots. Sketch books in this series were created by James Elliot Cabot and include drawings and watercolors of architectural details and country scenes many of which are from his time in Germany. The diary, kept by Louise Cabot in 1930-1931, documents the development and upbringing of the Cabot's son, Hugh Cabot III, who later became an artist of some repute. Most photographs are of the Cabot family and John and Clare Stephens and their family. Also included in this series is a card index of invitees to the wedding of Hugh Cabot, Jr. and Louise (Melanson) Cabot.

SERIES VIII. ADDENDA, 1857-1942 (#150bo-164), includes correspondence; diplomas and certificates, financial and estate records; clippings; photographs; etc. The bulk of the series consists of financial and estate records that include statements of stock and bond holdings of Hugh Cabot, and dividends generated, records of the estates of Mary Anderson (Boit) Cabot and Elisabeth Dwight Cabot, and the wills of the three, and land records. This material (#158-164) is closed until January 1, 2062. A small amount of correspondence regards the engagement and marriage of Hugh Cabot and Elisabeth Dwight Cabot. Also included in the series are photographs of members of the Cabot family at their Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, estate; clippings re: Hugh Cabot and Elisabeth Dwight Cabot; diplomas of Hugh Cabot from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, of Hugh Cabot, Jr., from Queen's University of Belfast, and of Arthur Tracy Cabot from the Noble and Greenough School; certificates from a number of medical societies and a fraternity; and a commendation for his work with the Harvard Medical Unit during World War I.

SERIES IX. JUDITH MERCER CABOT, 1890-2013 (#165cb-218, Mem.1), includes correspondence, diaries, genealogical material; passports; photograph albums and scrapbooks; etc. Genealogical material consists of notes, correspondence, and genealogical charts of the Cabot and Melanson families. One scrapbook documents her graduation from the Brimmer and May School and her coming out party (1951-1952) and includes correspondence, invitations, photographs, clippings, matchbook covers, etc., Photographs and photograph albums include photographs of her friends (many of them in Norway); she and her husband, Jan Knudsen; family members; John and Clare Stephens (mentioned in Series VII); and samples of her textile work. Correspondence includes letters with family and friends and contains news of birth, marriages, and death; genealogical inquiries; planning for the estate settlement and burial of friend Aron Gurski; etc. Also included are materials regarding Cabot planning her own funeral arrangements and includes an interview with her (in Norwegian). Correspondence with Dori Gores includes many references to Cabot's and Gore's bouts with depression, medication taken, and their sessions with therapists. Cabot's diaries describe her relationship with her husband, issues with body image, and her bouts of depression and her sessions with therapists. Original folder titles were retained. The series is arranged alphabetically.