Burns Library Collections

Boston

Burns Library collection descriptions

Burns Library collects aspects of Boston’s history, politics, and culture that complement the strengths of other regional repositories.

This collecting area was given initial impetus by Ellerton J. Brehaut, who donated a portion of his extensive Boston history collection to Boston College in 1965. A generous endowment established by John and Ruth Galvin in 2005 supports ongoing acquisitions.

Burns Library holds several dozen archival collections and nearly 5,000 published works pertaining to Boston and the Boston area, with concentrations in the categories outlined below. Materials pertaining to the Irish-American presence in Boston are described further in the Irish & Irish-American collection guide.

Boston and Boston-area materials
Books, pamphlets, maps, photographs, scores, and archival collections relating to the Boston area
Boston and Boston-area collections
Archival collections pertaining to the greater Boston area
Ellerton J. Berhaut Boston history collection
Consists of correspondence, manuscripts, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, account books, publications and other items relating to the history of the City of Boston. Includes records created by the Boston Police Department and other institutions, organizations and committees.
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A lobbyist and collector, Ellerton J. Brehaut was a native of North Attleborough, Massachusetts, who graduated from Harvard in 1918. From 1919 to 1959 he worked for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and was a member of various civic committees and organizations. Brehaut was also an avid collector of historical materials. He died in 1985.

Architecture and Infrastructure

Charles Maginnis Collection
Correspondence, publications, architectural drawings, photographs, and other materials of the Derry-born architect and his partner Timothy Walsh. In 1909, Maginnis and Walsh won the competition to design buildings for Boston College's Chestnut Hill campus.
Boston architecture
Materials pertaining to Boston architecture
Boston railways
Materials concerning railways in the Boston metro area.
Boston water works
Materials pertaining to Boston's water works and water supply

Business and Banking

Boston businesses collections
Records pertaining to businesses founded in Boston in the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially those founded by Irish Americans
Boston bank collections
Records pertaining to banks founded in Boston in the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially those founded by Irish Americans
John Donnelly & Sons records
This collection contains awards, business records, photographs, and scrapbooks related to the outdoor advertising firm John Donnelly & Sons. Scrapbooks compose the largest series and consist mainly of newspaper clippings regarding both the company's activities and advertising in general. Materials date from 1884 to 1978.
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John Donnelly & Sons was founded in Boston in 1850 by bill poster John Donnelly and became one
of the most prominent outdoor advertising companies on the east coast. The company created many of
the Boston area’s most iconic signs, including the Shell and Gillette Company signs.

Diaries and Journals

Mary Johanna Rhodes Wild diary, 1845-1865
Fully-digitized diary of Mary Johanna Rhodes Wild, detailing her daily life in Brookline, Massachusetts, as the wife of homeopathic doctor Charles Wild. Wild discusses housekeeping, finances, and marital discord, as well as her reading, occasional travels, and circle of friends and family. The volume includes 12 pages of a diary by her mother, Mary Throop Cushing Rhodes.
Reeves Family diaries, 1868-1905
Fully-digitized diaries of father and son Dexter Reeves, Sr. and Jr. of South Boston, with notes on weather, gardening, local happenings, reading, and visitors, as well as correspondence.
Sober Giggler
Digitized copy of the full two-year run of "The Sober Giggler," a handwritten satirical newspaper that forms part of the the Austin W. White papers, which document the creative life of Brockton, Massachusetts schoolboy Austin W. White. The papers at Burns Library also include small handmade books of fables detailing the adventures of American boys, several school compositions, and sketchbooks.
Diaires and Journals
All diaries and journals held by Burns Library, largely written by 19th and 20th century Bostonians
Civil War letters and diaries
Letters and diaries from soldiers enlisted with Massachusetts regiments during the Civil War

Education

The desegregation of Boston Public Schools is documented through the records of the Citywide Coordinating Council and the Louise Bonar and Carol Wolfe collection of Boston education materials. Selections from the former have been digitized as part of multi-institutional Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) collection sponsored by the Boston Library Consortium.

Burns Library also holds records pertain to several schools of nursing in Boston, including its own.

Citywide Coordinating Council records
The Council was created by court order in May 1975 to monitor implementation of Boston's School Desegregation Plan. The records of the Council include meeting minutes, reports, court documents, correspondence, newspaper clippings, monitoring forms, statistics, and publications. The materials document both the activities of the Council and the process of desegregation of Boston's public schools.
Louise Bonar and Carol Wolfe collection of Boston education materials
The Louise Bonar and Carol Wolfe collection of Boston education materials was created and compiled by parent and community activist Louise Bonar and Community District Advisory Council administrator Carol Wolfe. Materials reflect their work supporting the desegregation of Boston Public Schools from 1965 to 1978, as well as Bonar's continued interest in experimental schooling and racial equality in education. The collection contains administrative records, clippings, articles, correspondence, fliers, meeting minutes, memos, newsletters, notes, printed materials, scrapbooks, legal documents, and subject files dating from 1952-1984 (bulk 1966-1978).

Politics

Burns Library holds the papers of several US Congressional Representatives from Massachusetts, including Thomas P. O'Neill, whose constituencies included wards in the city of Boston. Burns Library also holds archival collections pertaining to several Boston mayors of Irish descent (see also Irish & Irish American collections under "Irish Americans").

Tip O'Neill congressional papers
Composed of correspondence, publications, photographs, audio tapes, videocassettes, artifacts, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks. Most of the material relates to O'Neill's career in Congress, and documents his views on such issues as the Vietnam War, Watergate, and relations with Ireland. Also includes papers of O'Neill's staff, files of Democratic Committees, and some letters of late twentieth century presidents.
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O'Neill was born in North Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1912, and attended Boston College. From 1936 to 1952 he served in the State Legislature, and from 1953 to 1986 he was a member of the United States House of Representatives. O'Neill served as Speaker of the House from 1977 to 1986. A loyal Democrat and proud Irish-American, he actively supported human rights issues. He died in 1994.
Edward P. Boland congressional papers
Papers that document the congressional career of Edward P. Boland in the House of Representatives for the 2nd District of Massachusetts. Composed of correspondence, photographs, audio and video recordings, artifacts and ephemera, clippings, publications, posters, and photograph albums.
Margaret Heckler papers
These papers document the career of Margaret Heckler, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Ambassador to Ireland. They contain correspondence, legislative files, scheduling files, photographs, speeches, audio and video recordings, clippings, ephemera, Republican Party materials, and personal materials.
Robert F. Drinan, SJ, papers
Composed of correspondence, publications, photographs, audio tapes, videocassettes, artifacts, and other items. Most of the material relates to Drinan's career in Congress, and documents his views on such issues as Watergate, Human Rights, Criminal Law, Soviet Jews, and the Nixon Impeachment hearings. There are also files of House committees, and some records documenting Drinan's tenure at Boston College and Georgetown University.
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Drinan was born in Boston in 1920. He attended Boston College and Georgetown University, and was ordained in 1953. From 1956 to 1970 he was Dean of the Boston College Law School, and from 1971 to 1980 he served in the United States House of Representatives. While in Congress Drinan advocated human rights, was involved in the Nixon impeachment hearings, helped revise the U.S. Criminal Code, and spearheaded abolishment of the House Internal Security Committee. In 1981 he went to teach at Georgetown University Law Center. While at Georgetown, Drinan specilized in international human rights, constitutional law, and arms control. He remained on the faculty at the Center for twenty-six years. Drinan died January, 2007, at the age of 86.

Religion and Society

Burns Library collects materials pertaining to Catholics and the Catholic Church in Boston.

Burns Library holds physical copies of selected years of The Pilot and its predecessors, America's oldest continually published Catholic newspaper and, since 1908, official organ of the Archdiocese of Boston. The BC Libraries are currently engaged in a multi-year project to systematically digitize as many pre-1908 issues as possible from multiple repositories; available issues are a linked from the Boston College Newspapers online collection.

Burns Library also houses a collection of some 1,400 volumes originally belonging to the First Church of Christ, Salem, one of oldest churches in North America. Titles range from the 16th to 19th century. A small but important collection of letters of Cotton Mather to Chief Justice William Stoughton pertain to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.

Frequently requested collections include:

Thomas Murray family papers
These papers document the life of Irish immigrant Thomas Murray and his work in Boston in the early 1800s as a Catholic undertaker and bookseller.
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Born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1774, Thomas Murray arrived in Boston in 1810 and became a naturalized American citizen in 1814. He became the sexton of St. Augustine's church when it was established in South Boston in 1819, and his duties included managing St. Augustine's cemetery. He was the first listed Catholic undertaker in Boston. Murray also owned a bookstore in downtown Boston. Murray married Margaret Murphy and had six children. As well as providing for their own children, the Murrays also took in an orphaned relative from Ireland. Several of the Murray children traveled and corresponded back to the family in Boston. Thomas Murray died in 1840
Young Men's Catholic Association of Boston College records
The records contain meeting minutes, scrapbooks, publications, and ephemera produced by the Young Men's Catholic Association of Boston College (later YMCA of Boston)
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The Young Men's Catholic Association of Boston College was founded in 1875. Its aim was to establish a Catholic social organization for young men who could not attend Boston College. The name was later changed to "YMCA of Boston" to reflect the independence of the organization from the college. In 1910, the organization began offering evening classes. The courses were open to men and women of all races and religions. The YMCA of Boston closed during World World II. Over the course of its sixty-five years of operation, 60,000 members and students passed through the doors of the YMCA of Boston.
David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery papers
The David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery papers relate mainly to their association with and disavowal of the Socialist Party, their conversion to Catholicism, and their subsequent lecture tours. The bulk of the material consists of Goldstein's professional papers, with a smaller amount of his personal papers and of Avery's papers. The collection includes artifacts, correspondence, financial records, pamphlets and clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, subject files, and writings.
Robert W. Bullock papers
Robert W. Bullock papers document the religious career of Bullock from 1960 to 2004. The materials relate primarily to his religious career as a Boston priest. Much material also relates to Bullock's activities with Facing History and Ourselves. The collection includes a significant body of sermons many of which focused on the Jewish-Christian relations and issues of anti-Semitism and the Church's handling of the sexual abuse crisis in the Boston Archdiocese.
Boston College collection of anti-Catholic documents
This collection documents popular and political manifestations of anti-Catholic prejudice in the United States, particularly Massachusetts, during the 19th century. Materials include, but are not limited to American Party documents. Topics include the burning of the Ursuline convent in Charlestown, MA in 1834; riots targeting Catholics in Philadelphia, PA; and the American Party during the 1850s-1860s.
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The inclusion of anti-Catholic sentiments in the American Party (or Know-Nothing Party) platform were a continuation of earlier anti-Catholic trends. One of the most famous incidents of anti-Catholic sentiment expression occurred August 11, 1834, when rioters looted and burned the Ursuline Convent of Mount Benedict in Charlestown, MA. Anti-Catholic violence erupted again in Philadelphia in 1835, and 13 people were killed in riots. Activities by the American Nativist Party in Kensington, Pennsylvania, in 1844 also sparked anti-Catholic riots. From its founding in the 1850s, the American Party continued to embrace these sentiments, as evidenced in its publications and meeting minutes.
Elizabeth Hayward collection of Ursuline Academy materials
This collection was compiled by Elizabeth W. Hayward, a former Ursuline Academy student. It contains correspondence, notes, clippings, and printed material relating to the Ursuline Academy convent fire in 1834 and a reunion of Ursuline Academy graduates in 1878. The correspondence series is the largest and includes unpublished firsthand accounts of the convent fire and riots.
Boston College collection of Cotton Mather letters
Fully-digitized collection of three letters written by Cotton Mather and addressed to Chief Justice William Stoughton.
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Cotton Mather was born in 1663, in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was the son of Puritan minister and Harvard College President (1685-1701) Increase Mather and his wife Maria Cotton. He entered Harvard College at age twelve and graduated with his master's degree at eighteen. He was ordained in 1685 and devoted himself to preaching, prayer, and publishing academic work. He served as minister at the Second Church in Boston from 1685 until his death. Mather is well known for his involvement in the Salem witch trials of 1692, and his research into the devil, witches, and possession. He published Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions in 1689, where he chronicled the account of a thirteen-year-old he believed to be possessed by the Devil. While not directly involved in the trials, Mather's education and writing on the topic made him an expert, and his counsel was sought during the trial. He published over four hundred works on Christianity and science during his lifetime. Cotton Mather died in 1728.

Police and Prisons

Ellerton J. Brehaut collection of Edward Hartwell Savage papers
This collection documents the life of Edward Hartwell Savage and his role in the development of the Boston Police Department from its roots in the Boston Watch
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Born in East Alstead, New Hampshire, in 1812, Savage arrived in Boston in 1843, where he worked at his brother's grocery in the North End. He joined the police force in 1851, and when reorganization created the Boston Police Department in 1854, was promoted to Captain and was placed in charge of Station Number One on Hanover Street in Boston's North End. Savage was promoted to Deputy Chief in 1861 and to Chief of Police in 1870. On his retirement in 1878, he became Probation Officer of Suffolk County. Savage had a keen interest in Boston history and authored two books. The first, A Chronological History of the Boston Watch and Police, from 1631 to 1865; together with the Recollections of a Boston police officer, or, Boston by daylight and gaslight, from the diary of an officer fifteen years in the service, was published in 1865 and again in 1873. His second book, Boston Events; brief mention and the date of more than 5,000 events that transpired in Boston from 1630 to 1880, covering a period of 250 years, together with other occurrences of interest, arranged in alphabetical order, was published in 1884. Edward Hartwell Savage died in 1893.
Howard Belding Gill papers
Consists of the personal and professional papers of penologist Howard Belding Gill (1890-1989). These include artifacts, audiovisual materials, awards and certificates, clippings, correspondence, lecture notes, photographs, photograph albums, scrapbooks, speeches, and writings and publications. The bulk of the materials document Gill's professional career, notably as superintendent of Norfolk Prison Colony (1927-1934) and as founder and director of the Institute of Correctional Administration (1952-1970). There are also materials relating generally to prisons, clinical criminology, and corrections.
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Gill attended Harvard College and Harvard Business School. He was the first superintendent of the Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Norfolk. He served as the Superintendent of Prisons in Washington D.C. from 1944 to 1946 and then taught at the University of Wisconsin. He established the Institute for Correctional Administration in Washington, D.C. in 1952. A nationally renowned penologist and prison administrator for over six decades, Gill also had a long consulting career and published frequently in his field.

Theater

Burns Library holds an extensive collection of theater playbills, programs, and scrapbooks, primarily for theaters in Boston and New England but also for other regions of the United States, Europe, and Asia. Boston theaters and companies strongly represented in the materials include Boston Lyric Opera, Charles Playhouse, Colonial Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Shubert Theatre, Wang Center for the Performing Arts, and Wilbur Theatre, as well as the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA.