312

Thomas Lamb Eliot.

Family letters by the Portland clergyman and founder of Reed College.

Portland, OR and elsewhere, circa 1886-1932
Approximately 168 Autograph Letters Signed to his son Samuel E. Eliot and family; generally minor wear, a small number on brittle newsprint.

  • Notes: Thomas Lamb Eliot (1841-1936) was part of the first graduating class of Washington University in St. Louis, and went west to Portland, OR in 1869 as a Unitarian minister. He became a central figure in the city's early spiritual and civic life, and played a central role in the establishment of Reed College in 1908. 

    The letters are addressed to his son Samuel Ely Eliot (1882-1976) and his family. Samuel attended Washington University in St. Louis circa 1905, and then ran a settlement house in Pittsburgh. Some are addressed jointly or solely to Samuel's wife Elsa Von Manderscheid Eliot, and a few to their son Mather.

    A group of additional T.L. Eliot papers includes: a 6-page typescript of his 1905 diary; a list of his pamphlet publications; and a manuscript prayer from 1902. A 1938 letter accompanying the typescript states: "I  feel sure that a representative selection perhaps a hundred of characteristic letters of different sorts from father to various members of the family or intimate friends would be a precious legacy." 

    With--additional correspondence of Samuel Ely Eliot and his family circa 1890s-1950. Includes 28 letters from mother Henrietta Mack Eliot (1845-1940). Two letters are from Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreño, 1908-1909. More than 1000 items (0.8 linear feet) including the T.L. Eliot letters.
  • Condition:
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