1823-1936
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The Jonathan Amory family papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@geminiwood.com.
Abstract
This collection contains the papers of the Amory family of Boston, primarily those of Jonathan Amory, Charles B. Amory, and Roger Amory. Included is family correspondence, personal papers, and printed material.
Biographical Sketch
Jonathan Amory (1802-1885) was born on 5 Nov. 1802 in Boston to Jonathan Amory (1770-1828) and Mehitable Sullivan Cutler Amory (1772-1847). A Boston lawyer, he was appointed justice of the peace for Suffolk County in 1876. Additionally, he was the holder of a patent for a steam boiler furnace and oversaw the distribution of the product. He married Letitia Austin (1807-1875) in 1826, and the couple had eleven children: Jonathan Austin Amory (1827-1875), Thomas Isaac Coffin Amory (1828-1864), Letitia Sullivan Amory Sargent (1830-1912), George Washington Amory (1832-1899), Mary F. Amory Haskell (1833-1896), Elizabeth Amory (1835-1901), Harriet H. Amory Garner (1837-1907), William Appleton Amory (1839-1912), Charles Bean Amory (1841-1919), Robert Gordon Amory (1847-1916), and Phillip Dumerisq Amory (1848-1849). Jonathan died in 1885 in Newport, R.I.
Charles Bean Amory (1841-1919) was born in New York City on 30 July 1841 to Jonathan Amory (1802-1885) and Letitia Austin Amory (1807-1875). He grew up in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, and after his graduation from high school in 1857, he worked for Boston merchant B.C. Clark and Co. During the Civil War, he served in the Massachusetts 24th Infantry, for which he was breveted major for distinguished gallantry for his service at Petersburg, Va. After the war, he worked as a cotton broker in New Orleans with the firms Tabary and Amory, John A. Burnham and Co., and Appleton, Amory and Co. After returning to Massachusetts in 1885, he became treasurer of the Hamilton Manufacturing Co. of Lowell, retiring in 1909.
Charles married Emily Ferriday (1848-1879) in 1867. They had no children. After Emily's death, he married Lily Clapp in 1881, and the couple had four children: Charles Bean Amory (1882-1940), Letitia Amory Montgomery Perkins (1883-1968), John Austin Amory (1885-1934), and Roger Amory (1887-1960). Charles died in 1919 in Milton, Mass.
Roger Amory (1887-1960) was born in Boston on 28 Mar. 1887 to Charles Amory (1841-1919) and Lily Clapp Amory (1856-1947). He graduated from Harvard University in 1910, later serving on the executive committee of Harvard's Undergraduate Aero Training Fund. During World War I, he served as a sergeant in the Aviation Section of the Army Signal Corps, attending training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Newport News, Va., and Hazelhurst Field, Long Island. After he was commissioned captain in Aug. 1917, he became the commandant of the School of Military Aeronautics, training pilots in Austin, Texas. Promoted to major in Sep. 1918, he resigned his commission in Jan. 1919. An attorney and banker, Roger became president of Consolidated Investment Trust of Boston, a mutual fund investment company. He married Louise Marion Lionberger Amory (1892-1979), the widow of his brother John A. Amory, about 1938. The couple wintered in Boca Grande, Fla., and built the Johann Fust Library (1949) and Shiloh Baptist Church (1959) for the community. Roger died in 1960 in Boston.
Collection Description
The Jonathan Amory family papers consists of four document boxes spanning the years 1823 to 1936. The collection has been divided into four series: Family correspondence, Jonathan Amory papers, Charles B. Amory papers, and Roger Amory papers. Family correspondence includes letters of Letitia Amory to her mother Mary Parkinson Austin and daughter Letitia Sargent discussing news within their circle of family and friends. Other letters include those between Jonathan Amory and his siblings and children, and Roger and Letitia Amory to their parents, Lily Clapp Amory and Charles Amory, while they were abroad in Europe.
The Jonathan Amory papers contain business correspondence pertaining to Jonathan's patent of a steam boiler furnace and his election as Suffolk County justice of the peace in 1876. Jonathan's personal correspondence includes letters from William Seward regarding the publication of Seward's autobiography. The Charles B. Amory papers consist of personal correspondence; military records pertaining to his service in the Civil War in the 24th Massachusetts Infantry, including a memoir of his military career and an application for a Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery at Petersburg, Va; and genealogical papers.
The Roger Amory papers contain materials pertaining to Roger's student activities at Milton Academy and Harvard University; his work with Harvard's Aero Training Corps; his service in the Aviation Section of the Army Signal Corps and as the commandant of the School of Military Aeronautics during World War I; and his involvement with the Harvard Class of 1910 reunion in 1935. A scrapbook contains newspaper clippings and photographs related to the Aero Training Corps.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Roger Amory, December 2018.
Restrictions on Access
The Jonathan Amory family papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@geminiwood.com.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Family correspondence, 1833-1936
Arranged chronologically.
This series is comprised of letters between members of the Amory family and between the Amorys and members of the related Austin and Sargent families. The bulk of early letters are from Letitia Austin Amory to her mother Mary Parkinson Austin and to her daughter Letitia Amory Sargent discussing daily life and family matters. Other letters include those between Jonathan Amory and his siblings and children, including letters pertaining to the death of Charles Sumner and those discussing engagements, marriages, and other family occassions. Later letters are largely between Roger Amory and his sister Letitia to their parents, Charles B. Amory and Lily Clapp Amory, including Christmas lists and their experiences at camp, and later as adults. The bulk of Roger's correspondence consists of letters from Europe during World War I, accounts of his travels to the southern and western United States after the war, and thoughts on his sister's marriage.
II. Jonathan Amory papers, 1823-1881
A. Loose papers, 1823-1881
Arranged chronologically.
The bulk of this subseries consists of legal documents and business correspondence are related to Jonathan's steam boiler furnace patent; business partnerships with Appleton, Thayer, and Haskell; his service as Suffolk County justice of the peace; and lawsuits involving the inheritance of the Appleton family. Notable correspondents include U.S. Department of Commerce agent E. A. Thayer and former Secretary of State William Seward. Correspondence with Seward is primarily related to the publication of Seward's autobiography.
B. Disbound volume, 1852-1857
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries consists primarily of business correspondence detailing the progress and implementation of Jonathon Amory's steam boiler furnace patent. Correspondence also includes information on stakeholders and orders for the finished product. Some letters are in French.
III. Charles B. Amory papers, 1863-1934
A. Personal correspondence and papers, 1870-1919
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries includes legal papers related to the estate of William Ferriday, the father of Charles's first wife; personal correspondence pertaining to the publication of Charles's military memoir in 1903; correspondence from Milton Academy and Harvard University related to Roger Amory's scholastic performance; Christmas lists and report cards of Charles's children; papers related to Charles's retirement from Hamilton Manufacturing Co. in 1909; and printed obituaries, memorials, and other papers related to his death in 1919.
B. Military papers, 1863-1934
Arranged chronologically.
The bulk of papers in this subseries pertain to Charles's award of the rank of brevet major in Mar. 1865 for his service at the front in Petersburg, Va. with the 24th Massachusetts Infantry. Also included are a published account of the Battle of Petersburg (1889), papers related to Charles's application for the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1889, and copies of Charles's military memoir, A Brief Record of the Army Life of Charles Bean Amory (1903), which also contain printed obituaries and memorials.
C. Genealogical records, 1893
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains notes and extracts from published genealogical works, copies of letters and deeds of Amory family ancestors, and various genealogical charts collected and compiled by Charles B. Amory.
IV. Roger Amory papers, 1842-1936
Arranged chronologically.
Early papers in this series include material related to Roger's activities as a student at Milton Academy and Harvard. Later correspondence and newspaper clippings pertain to Roger's work on the executive committee of Harvard's Aero Training Fund and his service in the Aviation Section of the Army Signal Corps and as Commandant of the School of Military Aeronautics in Austin, Tex. during World War I. Also included are newspaper clippings about the career of aviator Charles Lindbergh and printed material pertaining to Roger's involvement with the 1935 reunion of Harvard's Class of 1910. Roger's scrapbook includes newspaper clippings related to the Harvard Aero Training Corps, photographs of Harvard pilots, and memoranda from the organization's executive committee.
Preferred Citation
Jonathan Amory 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.