Halsey family papers

Collection — mapcase folder: 1

Identifier: 2966

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Scrapbooks of letters, clippings, pamphlets, and photographs relating to personal and professional activities of Francis W. Halsey; awards won by Francis W. and Frederick A. Halsey; Frederick A. Halsey's student notebooks, stock certificates, blueprints, published articles and books, typescript articles, and letters; and photographs, letters, and pamphlets concerning Olga Halsey, Marion S. Halsey, and Dr. Gaius Leonard Halsey. Also, a scrapbook compiled by Stella Spencer Halsey (Mrs. Frederick A.) and a Spencer family genealogy, as well as a volume evidently presented to Frederick A. Halsey in 1906 in appreciation of his work repairing clocks. Laid in the volume are notes and clippings relating to clock repairs.

Also, typewritten drafts and published versions of articles by Frederick A. Halsey, opposing the adoption of the metric system, including his article "The metric fallacy" in the Sibley Journal of Engineering (1931); a watercolor portrait of Frederick Halsey, dated 1935; portrait photographs of him, 1923 and circa 1935; poems written to him by his friends, circa 1909; and correspondence between Olga and Marion Halsey and Fred H. Colvin (1954-1965).

Dates

1870-1975.

Creator

Halsey family. (Family)
Halsey, Francis W. (Francis Whiting), 1851-1919. (Person)
Halsey, Frederick A. (Frederick Arthur), 1856-1935. (Person)
Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert), 1867-1965. (Person)

Language of Materials

Collection material in English

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Francis Whiting Halsey (Cornell University Class of 1873) was born in Unadilla, New York on October 15, 1851, and was the son of Dr. Gaius L. Halsey, a prominent Civil War physician and surgeon. Francis Halsey held editorial positions with the Binghamton Times, the New York Tribune, and, from 1880-1922, the New York Times, where he established the Times Review of Books in 1896. He wrote or edited a number of books, including The Old New York Frontier, The Pioneers of Unadilla Village, The World's Famous Orations (with William Jennings Bryan), and The Best of the World's Classics (with Senator Henry Cabot Lodge). He was a trustee of the New York State Historical Association and the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, and a member of the American Historical Association, New York State Library Association, and Cornell University Club, of which he was president in 1882. In 1883 he married Virginia Isabel Forbes, who died in 1900.

Francis' brother, Frederick Arthur Halsey (Cornell University M.E. 1878), was an engineer and author of a number of articles and books about engineering, particularly concerning the metric system. He was for a time the editor of the American Machinist. Marion S. Halsey and Olga S. Halsey were Frederick A. Halsey's daughters.

Fred H. Colvin was a machinist, technical journalist, author, and editor. He authored or coauthored dozens of monographs, textbooks, and reference books on machining, and served as chief editor of the journal Machinery and co-editor of the journal American Machinist. He also published a book of poetry, Safety Valve, in 1952.

Extent

3.2 cubic feet. (3.2 cubic feet.)

Additional Description

Abstract

Personal and professional papers of Francis W. Halsey (Cornell University Class of 1873), a newspaper editor and writer, and of his brother, Frederick A. Halsey (Cornell University M.E. 1878), an engineer and author of a number of articles and books about engineering. Also, letters to Frederick Halsey's daughters Olga and Marion from Fred H. Colvin.

Physical Description

Scrapbooks, notebooks, stock certificates, blueprints, articles, books, correspondence, photographs, pamphlets, manuscripts, a genealogy, and a painted portrait.

General

Contact Information:: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections 2B Carl A. Kroch Library Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-3530 Fax: (607) 255-9524 rareref@cornell.edu http://rmc.library.cornell.edu
Compiled by:: M. Warren
Date completed:: August 1984
EAD encoding:: Martin Heggestad, June 2003
Date modified:: Margaret Nichols, June 2016