Skip to main content

William P. Andrews Papers, 1887-1893

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 308

Scope and Content Note

The William P. Andrews Papers consist primarily of correspondence and newspaper clippings in relation to an essay of Andrews' views against prison reform published in The Forum October 1891. They are divided into three series.

Series I. Prison Reform Papers consists of correspondence from the editor of The Forum, Walter H. Page; editor of the Atlantic Monthly; an essay entitled "Rewarding Crime" undated and unsigned; two booklets on prison reform titled "Bodily pain vs. Crime" by N. McGregor Steel and "Christianity Amongst Convicts" by Dr. Browning and Bishop Willson; and correspondence generated in preparation for and after the appearance of the essays that appeared in The Forum. Also included are newspaper clippings from newspapers that mention Andrews and his position on prison reformers. Clippings are present from all over the United States and the Times of London; many have date, newspaper name, and location.

Series II. Financial Papers consists of correspondence to Andrews and his wife; household bills, personal checks, and an investment notice; and a notebook with warrant formats and Massachusetts law citations used by Andrews while he was court clerk.

Series III. Poetry Papers consist of Andrews' poems "Michael" and "Gabriel" written in his hand; the sonnets "The Voices in the Night", "To an Awakened Dreamer", and "Browning" typed with corrections; newspaper clippings of poems by Andrews and others; and correspondence and poems from poet Walter Storrs Bigelow.

A list of known poetry and essays written by Andrews that appeared in print is in Appendix I.

Dates

  • Creation: 1887-1893

Creator

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research use.

Biographical Sketch

William Page Andrews was born November 22, 1848, in Framingham, Massachusetts, son of Samuel Page (1813-1892) and Rebecca Bacon (Scudder) (1819-1896) Andrews. William's family relocated to Salem about 1853; he was educated in Salem public schools and by private instruction. Andrews married Edith H. Weston (1863-), daughter of Irving E. and Harriet (Mason) Weston of Winchendon, Massachusetts, on September 3, 1889.

Andrews was appointed assistant clerk of District Court in Salem in 1869, serving in this capacity until 1888 when he was appointed clerk. In April 1893 he resigned from the court and he and his wife left Salem. Nothing more is known of him until the notice of his death, which says he for many years lived in a villa on the island of Capri, Italy, where he died September 22, 1916.

Andrews' poetry and prose appeared in Salem and Boston newspapers, and magazines. After the death of Jones Very (1813-1880), Andrews edited a volume of Very's poems and wrote a biography of Very published in 1883. He also edited poems by Charles T. Brooks (1813-1883), published in 1885 after Brooks' death.

Extent

0.5 linear feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The William P. Andrews Papers consist primarily of correspondence and newspaper clippings in relation to an essay of Andrews' views against prison reform published in The Forum October 1891.

Series List

SERIES I. Prison Reform Papers

SERIES II. Financial Papers

SERIES III. Poetry Papers

Physical Location

Phillips Library Stacks

Provenance

The notebook in folder 5 was purchased on 10 February 1971. The rest of the collection is of unknown provenance.

Bibliography and Related Collections

Andrews, William P. Hymn for the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the settlement of Rev. E. B. Willson as pastor of the North Society. Salem, Mass., June 1, 1884.

Andrews, William P. Hymn for the Thirtieth Anniversary of Rev. E. B. Willson's pastorate of the North Church. Salem, Mass., June 2, 1889.

Andrews, William P. "Jones Very, poem". Century Magazine vol. 3, 1883.

Andrews, William P. "Jones Very". Harvard Register, March 1881.

Andrews, William P. "To the Poet Very, poem". Salem Gazette, Salem, Mass., February 23, 1883.

Andrews, William P. "(The) Seasons: a canzonet". Salem Gazette, July 7, 1885.

Andrews, William P. "Two Conundrums". Salem Gazette, July 7, 1885.

Andrews, William P. "Brooks Memorial". Essex Institute Historical Collections vol. 21, Salem, Mass., 1889.

Breed, George J., and William G. Barton. Songs and Saunterings by a Poet and Naturalist. Salem, 1892.

Brooks, Charles T. Poems Original and Translated. Boston, 1885.

Perley, Sidney. Poets of Essex County. Salem, 1888.

Salem News. April 18, 1888; May 5, 1893; September 23, 1916.

Very, Jones. Poems. Boston, 1883.

Processing Information

Collection processed by S. Perkins, March 2000. Updated by Anne E. (Holmer) Deschaine, June 2011, June 2014.

Title
WILLIAM P. ANDREWS (1848-1916) PAPERS, 1887-1893
Author
Processed by: S. Perkins; Updated by: Anne E. (Holmer) Deschaine; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Phillips Library Repository

Contact:
Peabody Essex Museum
306 Newburyport Turnpike
Rowley MA 01969 USA