MSS 117

Gallaudet, Dr. Edward Miner, 1837-1917
Papers of Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet, 1851-1984

 

 

Gallaudet University Archives.

 

 

Descriptive Summary

Repository: Gallaudet University Archives
Call No.: MSS 117
Creator:
Title: Papers of Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet, 1851-1984
Quantity: 4.5 Linear Feet (9 document boxes)
Abstract:
Note: This document last updated 2005 December 7.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information:. The Gallaudet Family gave the Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet Papers to the Gallaudet University Archives throughout the years. Dr. Maxine Tull Boatner also gave some of the papers.
Processed by: Michael Olson. 2000.
Processing Note:
Conditions on Use and Access: This collection is open to the public with no restrictions. Photocopies may be made for scholarly research.

 

 

Related Material in the Archives:

See ALADIN

 

Biographical Sketch

 

Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet was born on February 5, 1837 in Hartford, Connecticut and was the youngest of eight children. His father, Rev. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was one of the founders and first principal of the American School for the Deaf in Hartford. Edward’s mother, Sophia Fowler was deaf and had been a pupil of Rev. Gallaudet.

 

            When Edward was young, his father asked him what his plans for the future, he replied that he would like to become a businessman and work in a bank. His father encouraged him to become a teacher of the deaf. Edward decided to stick to his future plans. After the death of Rev. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet on September 10, 1851, Edward changed his mind and decided to become a teacher of the deaf. He attended Trinity College in Hartford to complete his education. He was offered a teaching position at the American School in 1855.

 

            In 1856, Amos Kendall, a wealthy businessman, offered Edward to become a superintendent of a newly founded school for the deaf in Washington, DC and he accepted the offer without hesitation. In 1857, Edward became the first superintendent at the age of 20 and his mother, Sophia came to live with him to assist in managing the school.

 

            Edward married Jane Melissa Fessenden on July 20, 1858 and had three children—two daughters and a son who died shortly after birth. Two daughters were Katherine and Grace and they grew to womanhood. Jane died after a long illness on November 23, 1866. Edward married to Susan Denison on December 22, 1868 and had five kids—three sons and two daughters.

 

            In 1864, a new college named “National Deaf-Mute College” was established by an act of Congress and President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill during the darkest days of the Civil War. Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet was the first president of the college at the age of 27. Edward was involved tirelessly in activities with Congress to obtain funds through appropriations for the college. He succeeded in getting funds to support students’ tuitions; for the operation of the college; and for the erection of new buildings.

 

            Edward wrote many articles on education for the deaf; on philosophy of sign language; and various subjects related to deaf. Edward opposed with Alexander Graham Bell on authority of using the sign language and oral method for the deaf children.

 

            Edward attended many conventions related to the education of the deaf. He attended the Milan Congress of 1880 in Italy where he witnessed the change of the system of sign language into oral method for deaf children.

 

            Edward was a teacher, advocate, writer, lecturer, and a friend of the deaf during his lifetime. He retired from Gallaudet College in 1910 and lived in Hartford until his death on September 26, 1917.

For more detailed biographical information, see Gallaudet Encyclopedia of Deaf People and Deafness. Also, there is an excellent, detailed biography of Dr. Gallaudet written by Maxine Tull Boatner entitled, “Voice of the Deaf, A Biography of Edward Miner Gallaudet”. There is a biographical file on Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet in the Gallaudet Archives.

 

 

Scope and Content

 

            The Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet Papers consist of correspondence, biographical information, articles, certificates, genealogical information, plays/scripts, poems, receipts, recipe book, diaries, speeches, pamphlets and sermons. Dr. Gallaudet was the first superintendent of the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb from 1857 to 1864. He was the first president of the National Deaf-Mute College from 1864 to 1910. In 1894, the college name was changed to Gallaudet College in honor of his father, Rev. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet.

 

            The collection, which consists of approximately 3,825 pages, dates from 1851 to 1984. The bulk of the collection consists of articles, letters, publications and sermons. The bulk dates are mostly between 1856 and 1910, of which was during Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet’s presidency between 1864 and 1910. The strength of the collection is centered mostly on speeches, sermons and letters.

 

            The largest subject in the collection is focused on the education of the deaf and also his lectures on various subjects related to the deaf. Dr. Gallaudet wrote many articles related to deaf and gave his speeches to different organizations. He also gave his lectures to his student body and faculty of Gallaudet College. An index to the Addresses and Lectures is included. In the collection includes his sermons he delivered to the student body between 1866 and 1906. Included in the collection is an index to titles of sermons and historical information on this subject.

 

            In Series III, Dr. Gallaudet corresponded with his associates and friends between 1856 and 1917. Correspondents were Alexander Graham Bell, President Grover Cleveland, Senator Henry L. Dawes, Julian Pauncefote, President James A. Garfield, John Hay, Amos Kendall and other notable persons.

            In Series IV, included in the collection, there are copies of letters from other repositories. In the early 1980s, David de Lorenzo wrote to the repositories to find out if their holdings contain letters of Edward Miner Gallaudet. The repositories sent copies of Gallaudet’s letters for our collection. 

 

 

Series Descriptions and Folder Lists

See Scope and Content.

 

Box

Folder

Title of Folder

Date

1

1

American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, Hartford, Conn.

1857

1

2

Applicant Addresses

1876

1

3

Biographical Information

1897-1979

1

4

Biographical of E. M. Gallaudet "Voice of the Deaf" Maxine T. Boatner

1949-1958

1

5

Birthday Greetings to E. M. Gallaudet Feb 5, 1889 (52nd Birthday)

1889

1

6

Birthday Greeting to E. M. Gallaudet Feb 5, 1907 (70th Birthday)

1907

1

7

The Buff and Blue - Anniversary Number, June, 1904.

1904

1

8

The Buff and Blue - Memorial Edition, Dr. E. M. Gallaudet

1917

1

9

The Buff and Blue - Edward Miner Gallaudet - Founder's Number

1921

1

10

Cartoons of E. M. G. & A.G. Bell from the Silent Echo, Winnipeg, Canada

1892

1

11

First Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. - Loan for the Use of A. Pew. - Certificate

1861

1

12

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Honorary Member, Dec 1, 1853

1853

1

13

Children's Impressions of E. M. Gallaudet

n.d.

1

14

Civil War Material Belonging to Edward M. Gallaudet

1861-1869

1

15

Convention of American Instructors of Deaf Participation in….

1870-1897

1

16

"Life of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet" by E. M. Gallaudet - Correspondence concerning the reprint

1937-1938

1

17

Cosmos Club Bulletin

1984

1

18

Death Certificate

1917

1

19

Dinners and Luncheons Given by The Edward Miner Gallaudet Family

1886-1894

1

20

Genealogy of the Gallaudet Family

1888-1983

1

21

Graduates' Addresses

1876

1

22

Gallaudet, E. M. "Intermarriage of the Deaf…" Science 1890

1890

1

23

Invitation from the White House

n.d.

1

24

Biography of E. M. Gallaudet - "National Cyclopedia of American Biography" (letter relating to….)

1924

1

25

Biography of E. M. Gallaudet - Letters relating to the proposed Biography

1924-1959

2

1

Birthday Greetings to E. M. Gallaudet - Feb. 5, 1917 (80th Birthday)

1917

2

2

Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur  Letters

1912-1914

2

3

Letters - Gallaudet, E. M. to Elizabeth Peet

1905

2

4

Birthday Greetings to E. M. Gallaudet - Feb. 5, 1915 (78th Birthday) - Letter

1915

2

5

Letters - Gallaudet, E. M. to Mary A. Thompson

1865

2

6

International Exhibition, Vienna, Austria, May 1 - October 31, 1873. Honorary Commissioner Appointment.

1873

2

7

"International Law" Correspondence and Material

1878-1917

2

8

The Pas - a - Pas Club - Letters

1893

2

9

Royal Commission on the Blind and Deaf & Dumb, Great Britain, 1886.

1886

2

10

Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

1911

2

11

Swedish Deaf-Mute Association - Certificate of Honorary Membership, 17th July, 1893. Letters

1893

2

12

Washington Academy of Sciences (letter)

1915

2

13

European Trips - Letters & clippings

1867-1904

2

14

List of Institutions to which reports were sent

1876

2

15

List of Members of the Board & Employees of the College

1876

2

16

Mark Twain and Edward M. Gallaudet

1950-1959

2

17

Marriage License - France

1874

2

18

Memorial Fund to the Memory of Edward Miner Gallaudet

1918-1960

2

19

Memorial Services in Honor of Samuel G. Howe - Address by E. M.  Gallaudet, Feb. 8, 1876. Conversation with Laura Bridgman during the Memorial Service.

1876

2

20

Native Americans Sign Language - E. M. Gallaudet

1886

2

21

Obituary and Funeral

1917-1918

2

22

Papers in the Library of Congress

1954

2

23

Patterson Park Plans as Seen by Edward M. Gallaudet

1931

2

24

Philosophy on the "Combined System"

1892-1898

2

25

Places E. M. Gallaudet Liked to Visit - Homes of Friends and Government Buildings

1856-

2

26

Play Written by E. M. Gallaudet "The Maniac's Revenge"

1862?

2

27

Plays (untitled)

n.d.

3

1

Poems - Collected by members of Gallaudet Family

1867-1906

3

2

Poems - Written About E. M. Gallaudet

1907-1958

3

3

Poems - Written by E. M. Gallaudet

1851-1906

3

4

Publishers Lists

1874

3

5

Quiescas, 128 Woodland St., Hartford, Conn. Stained Glass Window

1958

3

6

Quiescas - Detailed Designs

n.d.

3

7

Receipt - Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.

1876

3

8

Receipts for European Purchases

1872

3

9

Receipts for Items of Furniture, Household Goods & Jewelry

1865-1869

3

10

Recipe Books - SEE, ALSO Dinners & Luncheons Given by the E. M. G.'s.

1881

3

11

Retirement from Gallaudet College

1910-1911

3

12

Dwelling House - Specifications, Plans drawn for E. M. Gallaudet. Joiners, Masons, Plumbers, April, 1883

1883

3

13

Bell & Gallaudet on Appropriations, Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill, 1-27-1891

1891

3

14

Tea Price List

1877

3

15

Travel Diaries - Abroad and in the U.S.

1860-1879

3

16

Washington Literary Society - from MSS Division, Library of Congress

1879-1917

3

17

World Congresses

1880-1912

3

18

Yale University - Honorary Degree

1895

4

1

Address (notes) Address at Evansville, Ind., Dec. 18, 1888.

1888

4

2

Address (notes) Address at Pittsburg & Columbus, Dec. 8th and 10th, 1906

1906

4

3

Address (notes) Address for the Anti-Saloon League Meeting, Oct. 24, 1900

1900

4

4

Address (notes) Address on Temperance given in Branford, Summer of 1884. (1st page missing)

1884

4

5

Address (notes) Address to the D.A.R., Arlington Hotel, Feb. 22, 1898.

1898

4

6

Lecture "Aloofness"

n.d.

4

7

American & European Systems of Deaf-Mute Instruction Compared.

n.d.

4

8

Lectures to Students? "Amusements" April 27, 1871

1871

4

9

Address - At the Banquet of the Soc. Of Colonial Wars, Dec. 9, 1894

1894

4

10

Address - At the Grand Pacific Hotel at a Banquet in his Honor, August 11, 1892, Chicago, Ill.

1892

4

11

Address - Board of Education, Special Funds Committee, n.p. Nov. 19, ( )

n.d.

4

12

Address - "Child-like Manliness", Nov. 8, 96, Columbus, Ohio. July 31, 1898; Repeated March 24, 1901

1896-1901

4

13

Address (notes) Congressional Club After Dinner Speech, Forefather's Day, Dec. 21, 1894

1894

4

14

Pamphlet - "The Deaf and Their Possibilities"

1898

4

15

Address "Deaf-Mute Education in America, 1890-1895" (Later publ. As "Some Incidents in the progress of Deaf-Mute Education in America, 1890-1895"

1895

4

16

Address - Delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Y.M.C.A., Washington, May 16, 1870.

1870

4

17

Address "The Diseases of Body Politic," Feb. 11, 1898. (Pages are missing)

1898

4

18

Address (notes) Dr. Babcock's Church in Baltimore, Dec. 14, 1896

1896

4

19

Pamphlet - The Education of the Deaf: Its Opportunities and Its Perils.

1893

4

20

Address "The Effect of the Occurrence of the Unexpected" n.d., n.p.

n.d.

4

21

Lecture "The Ethics of Friendship" Feb. 21, 1896

1896

4

22

Pamphlet - The Family of Priuli, Also called Prioli, Priolo, Prioleau.

1894

4

23

Address "Forty Years and More" n.d., n.p.

n.d.

4

24

Lecture to the Literary Society - Founding of Johns Hopkins Hospital; Dr. Gallaudet's experience as a patient there. Jan. 29, 1909

1909

4

25

Address "France in a Hurry" n.d., n.p.

n.d.

4

26

Lecture "Glimpses of Finland & Sweden"

n.d.

4

27

Lecture "The Gospel of Thrift"

n.d.

4

28

Lecture to Faculty "The Hague Peace Conference"

1904

4

29

Address - Hartford School for the Deaf, Hartford, Conn.

1892

4

30

Lecture "An Heroic Silver Cure"

n.d.

4

31

Pamphlet - The Higher Education of the Deaf

1893

4

32

Address "Hills and Dales" n.d., n.p.

n.d.

4

33

Address "A History of the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, Read before the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C.

1911

4

34

INDEX to Addresses and Lectures

 

4

35

Lecture "The Influence of Beauty in the Formation of Character"

1879

4

36

Address "The Influence of the Huguenot Spirit on Philanthropic Work in America".

n.d.

4

37

Lecture "The Intellectual Element in Ethics" Given at Davidson's Summer School of Philosophy, Farmington, Conn.

1888

4

38

Lecture "Investments" Boston, October, 1890; Chicago, April 1891; St. Louis, April 1891.

1890-1891

4

39

Pamphlet - "Is An Oral College Needed?"

n.d.

4

40

Address - Last Address in Chapel Hall

1917

4

41

Lecture to Faculty "The Law of Veracity"

1887

4

42

Lecture (notes) Political, Economy, Tariff, Reciprocity, Ship Subsidy, Trusts. Lecture at Philadelphia.

1902

4

43

Lecture "The Lorna Doone Country of Devonshire" (Film of E. M. Gallaudet lecturing)

1911

4

44

Address (notes) Medical & Anthropological Society

1898

4

45

Pamphlet - The Mental Development of the Deaf Child

1910

4

46

Lecture - Money

n.d.

4

47

Lecture "Monopoly"

n.d.

4

48

Addresses, Miscellaneous Notes on… Muscles of the Body & Toning for Articulation & Pantomime. Notes on European Travel; Notes on Education for Women

n.d.

4

49

Pamphlet - Must The Sign-Language Go?

1899

4

50

Lecture to Literary Society "Notes for a Talk About the Glasgow Trip, 1891,"

1891

4

51

Lecture (notes) Notes for Lecture on Southern Trip

1884

5

1

Lecture (notes and cards) "A Pack of Cards" March 27, 1868. (Repeated Nov. 16, 1883 before the Literary Society of the College)

1868-1883

5

2

Lecture to the Literary Society "The Paris Congress"

1901

5

3

Lecture to Faculty "The Parliament of Man, The Federation of the World"

1894

5

4

Lecture to Students "The Philippines" delivered to the Student Body in Chapel Hall

1899

5

5

Address (notes) Pittsburg Address

1896

5

6

Pamphlet - President Garfield's Connection with the National Deaf-Mute College,  Washington D.C.

1882

5

7

Pamphlet - The Proper Adjustment of Methods in the Education of the Deaf

1893

5

8

Pamphlet - Quale e il valore del linguaggio pel sordo-muto?

1900

5

9

Lecture "A Realized Ideal"

n.d.

5

10

Address "Recent Developments in the Education of the Deaf", read at a meeting of the Social Science Association, Saratoga

1896

5

11

Segments of Manuscripts (Possibly for Addresses or Lectures)

n.d.

5

12

Address "Semi-Centennial of City Missionary Society

1901

5

13

Address - Semi-centennial of Columbia Institution for the Deaf

1907

5

14

Lecture to Faculty "The Silver Question"

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