Halsey family papers, 1870-1975.
Collection Number: 2966

Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Cornell University Library


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
Halsey family papers, 1870-1975.
Repository:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Collection Number:
2966
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.
Creator:
Halsey family.
Halsey, Francis W. (Francis Whiting), 1851-1919.
Halsey, Frederick A. (Frederick Arthur), 1856-1935.
Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert), 1867-1965.
Quanitities:
3.2 cubic feet.
Language:
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.

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).

INFORMATION FOR USERS

Cite As:

Halsey family papers, #2966. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.

SUBJECTS

Names:
Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925.
Halsey, Francis W. (Francis Whiting), 1851-1919. (Title of work: Pioneers of Unadilla Village..)
Halsey, Francis W. (Francis Whiting), 1851-1919. (Title of work: Old New York frontier..)
Halsey, Francis W. (Francis Whiting), 1851-1919. (Title of work: Our literary deluge..)
Halsey, Frederick A. (Frederick Arthur), 1856-1935.
Halsey, Gaius Leonard, 1819-1891.
Halsey, Marion S.
Halsey, Olga S., -1970.
Halsey, Stella Spencer.
Halsey, Virginia Isabel Forbes, -1900.
American Historical Association
American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society
Cornell University. Club
New York State Historical Association
New York Library Association
Places:
Unadilla (N.Y.)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Medical care.
Subjects:
Physicians.
Journalists.
Engineers.
Authors.
Metric system.
Medicine.
Journalism.
Engineering.
Form and Genre Terms:
Watercolors (paintings)
Photographs.
Genealogies.
Blueprints.

CONTAINER LIST
Container
Description
Date
Box 1 Folder 1
Postcards
Box 1 Folder 2
Photographs
Box 1 Folder 3
Unpublished articles
1924-1925, 1934
Box 1 Folder 4
American Machinist
1907
Box 1 Folder 5
Blueprints
Box 1 Folder 6
"Premium Plan of Paying for Labor"
Box 1 Folder 7
Francis W. Halsey photos
Box 1 Folder 8
Letter to A. Halsey to Mr. Coon of Rand Drill Co.
1883
Box 2 Volume 1
Lectures on History by Andrew D. White, Vol. I, notes of Francis W. Halsey
1871-1872
Box 2 Volume 2
Lectures on History by Andrew D. White, Vol. II, notes of Francis W. Halsey
1871-1872
Box 2 Volume 3
Lectures on History by Andrew D. White, Vol. III, notes of Francis W. Halsey
1871-1872
Box 2 Volume 4
Lectures on Ancient Roman History by W.C. Russell, notes of Francis W. Halsey
1870
Box 2 Volume 5
Notebook kept by Frederick A. Halsey: Notes on Physics, taken during the spring term of 1874, from the lectures of Prof. Anthony, Accoustics and Optics
1874
Box 2 Volume 6
Notebook kept by Frederick A. Halsey: "Continuation of notes on Electricity and Magnetism, taken during the Winter and Spring terms of 1875, from the lectures of Pro. Anthony
1875
Box 2 Volume 7
Volume (mimeo): A Course in Water Wheels, 1878 . Published for the Senior Class in Civil Engineering at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (Note by IL P, Church that he is indebted to Prof. E.A. Fuertes for the translation from Vol. II of J. Wrisback's Lehrbuch der Ingenieur Maschinemachanik.)
1878
Box 2 Volume 8
Halsey, Frederick A. The Locomotive Link Motion. New York: Press of Locomotive Engineering
1898
Box 2 Volume 9
Halsey, Frederick A. Methods of Machine Shop Work. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.
1914
Box 2 Volume 10
Halsey, Frederick A. The Metric Fallacy. 2nd ed. New York
1919
Box 2 Volume 11
Halsey, Frederick A. Slide Valve Gears. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co. (autographed)
1890
Box 2 Volume 12
Halsey, Frederick A. Slide Valve Gears. Rev. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co.
1899
Box 2 Volume 13
Halsey, Frederick A. The Use of the Slide Rule . Van Nostrand Science Series, No. 114. 3rd ed. New York
1903
Box 2 Volume 14
Worm and Spiral Greating. Van Nostrand Science Series, No. 116. New York
1902
Box 2 Volume 15
Smith, Charles F., Frederick A. Halsey and others. The Design and Construction of Cams. New York: Hill Publishing Co.
1906
Box 2 Volume 16
News clippings re: the "reform movement" led by John DeWitt Warner and F.W.H. and to the "attacts" on the administration of Pres. White
Box 2 Volume 17
Scrapbook of F.A.H.: photos, letters, memos; Cornell, family, homes rooms
Box 3 Folder 1
Tennyson's 1832 Volume
Box 3 Folder 2
Faerie Queen
Box 3 Folder 3
Old French
Box 3 Folder 4
Rev. History 53
Box 3 Folder 5
Apollonius of Tyre
Box 3 Folder 6
Medieval French Literature
Box 3 Folder 7
Student Notes
Box 3 Folder 8
Drama in England II
Box 3 Folder 9
English Drama I
Box 3 Folder 10
Student Papers
Box 3 Folder 11
Students and Paper
Box 3 Folder 12
Coronement Loois
Box 3 Folder 13
Morte d'Arthur
Box 3 Folder 14
Newsclippings and articles on Metre System
F.W.H.'s scrapbooks
Box 3 Folder 15
Lectures, speeches, "Pioneers of Unadilla"
Box 3 Folder 16
"The Old New York Frontier"
Box 3 Folder 17
New York Times - Change to Appleton's
Box 3 Folder 18
American Authors and Their Homes and Women Authors of Our Day in Their Homes
Box 3 Folder 19
The Old New York Frontier
Box 3 Folder 20
Our Literary Deluge
Box 4 Folder 1
Loose pages from scrapbook
Box 4 Folder 2
Clippings
Box 4 Folder 3
Book Review items
Box 4 Folder 4
Correspondence - Francis W. Halsey to Olga Halsey
1934
Box 4 Folder 5
Olga Halsey Incentive Award
Box 4 Folder 6
Olga Halsey Bureau of Employment Security
Box 4 Folder 7
Reno Marine Salvage System
Box 4 Folder 8
Correspondence Dr. Gaius Leonard Halsey to F.W.H.
1871-1889
Box 4 Folder 9
Frederick Halsey biography, etc.
Box 4 Folder 10
Methods of Machine Shop Work, Halsey, McGraw-Hill Co.
Box 4 Folder 11
"Life of Francis W. Halsey" c 1972, c 1975
Box 4 Folder 12
Correspondence - photocopies
Box 4 Folder 13
Spencer family (Ithamer, b. 1733)
Box 4 Folder 14
Omnimeter
Box 5
Cornell Students' Handbook
1912-1913
Box 5
Volume evidently presented to Frederick A. Halsey in appreciation of his work repairing clocks
1906
Box 5
Leather watch-fob with medallion showing Ezra Cornell and date [MU-2042]
1865
Box 5
2 3/4" gold medal in case: "The American Society of Mechanical Engineers" [MU-2043]
1923
Box 5
Fraternity key on gold chain with three ivory balls (watch fob) [MU-2044]
1886
Box 6
Letters from Fred H. Colvin to Olga and Marion Halsey
1954-1965
Box 6
Typewritten manuscripts and letters by Frederick A. Halsey, and poems written to him by his friends
1909- 1935
Box 6
Printed article "The Metric Fallacy," Sibley Journal of Engineering
1931
Box 6
2 portrait photographs and 1 watercolor portrait of Frederick Halsey
1923-1935