Wells, David A. (David Ames), 1828-1898

Overview: The records include organizational papers, minutes, correspondence, financial records, and committee files which document the founding of the American Social Science Association in 1865 and its functioning over the next twenty-five years. The records highlight the work of Franklin Benjamin Sanborn as secretary of the association. The records also include files of the Conference of Charities and Corrections which met with the American Social Science Association.

Overview: The papers include correspondence, legal documents, petitions, pamphlets, and printed material of Samuel Bowles, journalist and political activist. As editor of the influential Springfield Republican, Bowles was a prominent national voice on many public issues during the mid-nineteenth century and included in the papers is correspondence from a number of national political and business figures.