Scope and Contents
The collection contains correspondence, writings, and other papers of educator and social reformer Nathaniel T. Allen, and biographical and research materials about him. Manuscripts in each series are accompanied by additional photocopied materials, some annotated by an unidentified researcher; for most, locations of originals are unidentified.
Correspondence with family, colleagues, and students, 1846-1902, includes letters from Allen to his family, 1851, about travel from Charleston, South Carolina, to New Orleans, Louisiana, with observations on slavery and other impressions of the South; letters to Allen from colleagues, 1865, about his acquittal on charges of assaulting and causing the death of a student; and condolence letters following the death of his daughter, Sarah Caroline Allen Cooney (1861-1897).
Notebooks include student notes from the State Normal School (Bridgewater, Mass.), 1845-1846, about arithmetic, algebra, geometry, physiology, geography, and grammar, and the Rensselaer Institute, 1847, about botany and chemistry; teaching notes relating to the Model School in West Newton, 1852-1853; notes, accounts, and a scrapbook from travel in Europe and research on education in Germany, 1869-1871; and catalogs of his library and mineral specimens, undated. Other writings include a draft biography of Irish social reformer and suffragist Frances Power Cobbe, undated; and notes, articles, and speeches, 1869-1902 and undated, relating to education, politics, religion, travel, and other subjects.
Biographical materials include memoirs by Allen, 1884 and undated; biographical sketches from published reference sources, 1890-1929; a typescript eulogy by Julian Clifford Jaynes, minister of the First Unitarian Society in West Newton; obituaries; and other articles about Allen and the West Newton English and Classical School, 1853-1993.
Other papers include real estate deeds and maps for properties owned by Allen and his family in West Newton and Medfield, Massachusetts, 1840s-1911; financial accounts with James Theodore Allen, Joseph Addison Allen, and others, 1843-1893; a photograph of a school picnic, 1892, and reproductions of photographs of Allen, 1840s and undated; printed material including advertisements for Pinehurst Resort, North Carolina, 1897-1898 and undated; and a small amount of notes and research material by an unidentified researcher, 2009 and undated.
Correspondence with family, colleagues, and students, 1846-1902, includes letters from Allen to his family, 1851, about travel from Charleston, South Carolina, to New Orleans, Louisiana, with observations on slavery and other impressions of the South; letters to Allen from colleagues, 1865, about his acquittal on charges of assaulting and causing the death of a student; and condolence letters following the death of his daughter, Sarah Caroline Allen Cooney (1861-1897).
Notebooks include student notes from the State Normal School (Bridgewater, Mass.), 1845-1846, about arithmetic, algebra, geometry, physiology, geography, and grammar, and the Rensselaer Institute, 1847, about botany and chemistry; teaching notes relating to the Model School in West Newton, 1852-1853; notes, accounts, and a scrapbook from travel in Europe and research on education in Germany, 1869-1871; and catalogs of his library and mineral specimens, undated. Other writings include a draft biography of Irish social reformer and suffragist Frances Power Cobbe, undated; and notes, articles, and speeches, 1869-1902 and undated, relating to education, politics, religion, travel, and other subjects.
Biographical materials include memoirs by Allen, 1884 and undated; biographical sketches from published reference sources, 1890-1929; a typescript eulogy by Julian Clifford Jaynes, minister of the First Unitarian Society in West Newton; obituaries; and other articles about Allen and the West Newton English and Classical School, 1853-1993.
Other papers include real estate deeds and maps for properties owned by Allen and his family in West Newton and Medfield, Massachusetts, 1840s-1911; financial accounts with James Theodore Allen, Joseph Addison Allen, and others, 1843-1893; a photograph of a school picnic, 1892, and reproductions of photographs of Allen, 1840s and undated; printed material including advertisements for Pinehurst Resort, North Carolina, 1897-1898 and undated; and a small amount of notes and research material by an unidentified researcher, 2009 and undated.
Dates
- 1834 - 2009
- Majority of material found within 1843 - 1903
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Nathaniel T. Allen Collection is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Conditions Governing Use
Photocopied materials may be reproduced, except when otherwise noted on photocopy.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from M & S Rare Books on the Jockey Hollow Fund, 2012.
Arrangement
Organized into five series: I. Correspondence, 1846-1902. II., Notebooks, 1843-1871. III. Other Writings, 1869-1902. IV. Biographical Materials, 1834-1993. V. Other Papers, 1840s-2009.
Extent
1.54 Linear Feet (5 boxes + 1 broadside)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The collection contains correspondence, writings, and other papers of educator and social reformer Nathaniel T. Allen, and biographical and research materials about him. Manuscripts in each series are accompanied by additional photocopied materials, some annotated by an unidentified researcher; for most, locations of originals are unidentified.
Biographical / Historical
Nathaniel T. (Nathaniel Topliff) Allen (1823-1903) was an American educator and social reformer. Allen graduated from the State Normal School (Bridgewater, Mass.) in 1845, and attended the Rensselaer Institute (later Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) in 1847. During 1848-1853, he was principal of the Model School in West Newton, Massachusetts, which was associated with the State Normal School at West Newton (later Framingham State University), founded by Horace Mann, Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education. Allen founded the West Newton English and Classical School in 1854, and served as its director until 1900. Teachers at the West Newton English and Classical School included Allen’s wife, Caroline Swift Bassett Allen (1830-1915); his brothers George Ellis Allen (1817-1888), Joseph Addison Allen (1819-1904), and James Theodore Allen (1831-1900); and his daughters, Fanny Bassett Allen (1857-1913) and Lucy Ellis Allen (1867-1943), who also founded the Misses Allen School in West Newton in 1904. Nathaniel T. Allen was an advocate of social reforms including abolition and women’s suffrage, and his educational reforms and innovations included kindergarten, co-education of boys and girls, racial integration, and study of natural science and physical fitness.
- Abolitionists -- Massachusetts
- Abolitionists -- Massachusetts -- 19th century
- Allen, Caroline Swift Bassett, 1830-1915
- Allen, Fanny Bassett
- Allen, George Ellis, 1817-1888
- Allen, James Theodore, 1831-1900
- Allen, Joseph Addison, 1819-1904
- Allen, Lucy Ellis
- Allen, Lucy, 1793-1889
- Allen, Nathaniel T. (Nathaniel Topliff), 1823-1903
- Cobbe, Frances Power, 1822-1904
- Coeducation -- Massachusetts
- Cooney, Sarah Allen
- Education -- Germany
- Education -- Massachusetts
- Educators -- Massachusetts
- Educators -- Massachusetts -- 19th century
- Jaynes, Julian Clifford, 1854-1922
- Medfield (Mass. : Town) -- Maps
- Medfield (Mass. : Town) -- Social life and customs
- Photographs
- Pinehurst (N.C.) -- Social life and customs
- Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (Pinehurst, N.C.)
- Rensselaer Institute -- Students
- School integration -- Massachusetts
- Slavery -- Southern States
- Slavery -- United States
- Southern States -- Description and travel
- State Normal School (Bridgewater, Mass.) -- Students
- State Normal School at Framingham, Mass
- State Normal School at West Newton (Mass.)
- West Newton (Newton, Mass.) -- Social life and customs
- West Newton English and Classical School
- Women -- Suffrage -- United States
- Title
- Guide to the Nathaniel T. Allen Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Karen Spicher
- Date
- 2016 February
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
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