Contents

Collection Overview

Biographical Note

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Organization of the Collection

Claude Moore Fuess (AC 1905) Material for a Biography of Frank Waterman Stearns (AC 1878), 1868-1941 (bulk 1915-1941)

Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Peter A. Nelson.

Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

© 2004

Biographical Note

Claude Moore Fuess (AC 1905), educator, historian and author, was born in Waterville, N.Y., in 1885. He received the M.A. (1906) and Ph.D (1912) degrees from Columbia University. Fuess taught English at Phillips Academy, Andover, from 1908 to 1933, and was appointed headmaster there in 1933. He was the author or editor of more than 30 books and numerous articles, among which are "An Old New England School: A History Of Phillips Academy Andover" (1917); "The Amherst Memorial Volume; A Record Of The Contribution Made By Amherst College And Amherst Men In the World War, 1914-1918" (1926); "Daniel Webster" (1930); "Amherst, The Story Of A New England College" (1935); "Calvin Coolidge, The Man From Vermont" (1940); "Joseph B. Eastman, Servant Of The People" (1952); "Stanley King Of Amherst" (1955); and "Andover: Symbol of New England" (1959). At some time Fuess was commissioned by Frank Waterman Stearns to write a biographical treatment of Stearns himself; however, Stearns died in 1939 and sometime around 1941 the project was abandoned according to the wishes of the Stearns family. Fuess died in 1963.

Frank Waterman Stearns (AC 1878) was born on November 8, 1856 in Boston. After graduating from Amherst College in 1878, he joined his father's retail dry goods firm, the R. H. Stearns Company in Boston. He became a partner in that company in 1881 and was appointed chairman of its Board of Directors in 1919. Stearns was a close friend of his fellow Amherst College alumnus, Calvin Coolidge (AC 1895) and one of his most influential supporters in politics. In 1880 Stearns married Emily Williston Clark (daughter of William Smith Clark, AC 1848), with whom he had three children: Foster Stearns (AC 1903), Emily W. Giese, and Louisa Prescott. Frank Waterman Stearns died in Boston in 1939.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The collection includes unfinished typescript chapters of Claude M. Fuess' proposed biography of Frank Waterman Stearns, clippings and other biographical materials about Stearns and the F.W. Stearns Company. In addition, the collection contains certain personal papers of Stearns, including some of his correspondence with Calvin Coolidge and members of Coolidge's staff when Coolidge served as Governor of Massachusetts and later Vice-President and President of the United States. Other of Stearns' correspondents include his son Foster Stearns and Dwight W. Morrow (AC 1895).

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Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into four series:

• 1. Typescript Drafts of Fuess' Biography of Stearns, n.d.
• 2. Notes and Clippings about Stearns, 1908-1929 and n.d.
• 3. Claude Moore Fuess Correspondence, 1937-1941
• 4. Frank Waterman Stearns Papers, 1868-1930 (bulk 1915-1930)

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Series 1: TYPESCRIPT DRAFTS OF FUESS' BIOGRAPHY OF STEARNS, n.d.

Series 1, TYPESCRIPT DRAFTS OF FUESS' BIOGRAPHY OF STEARNS, n.d., consists of drafts of seven chapters begun by Fuess. They are arranged by chapter number, with insertions at the end.

Series 2: NOTES AND CLIPPINGS ABOUT STEARNS, 1908-1929 and n.d.

Series 2, NOTES AND CLIPPINGS ABOUT STEARNS, 1908-1929 and n.d., includes Fuess' biographical notes and newspaper clippings related to F. W. Stearns, the Stearns family and the R. H. Stearns Company.

Series 3: CLAUDE MOORE FUESS CORRESPONDENCE, 1937-1941

Series 3, CLAUDE MOORE FUESS CORRESPONDENCE, 1937-1941, consists of a small number of letters Fuess received providing background on F.W. Stearns. The chief correspondent is Benjamin F. Felt.

Series 4: FRANK WATERMAN STEARNS PAPERS, 1868-1930 (bulk 1915-1930)

Series 4, FRANK WATERMAN STEARNS PAPERS, 1868-1930 (bulk 1915-1930), is organized into four sub-series:

A. Correspondence, 1870-1930 (bulk 1915-1930), which is further sub-divided into two groups:

1. Correspondence with Calvin Coolidge and his Aides, 1915-1928 and n.d.

2. General Correspondence

B. Writings, 1915-1930 and n.d.

C. Photographs, ca. 1875-1930

D. Other Documents, 1868-1919

Sub-Series A, Correspondence, is the most significant here, as it documents F. W. Stearns' long friendship with Calvin Coolidge and the Coolidge family and his strong support of Coolidge's political career as he progressed from State Senator in Massachusetts (1911) to Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (1915), to Governor of Massachusetts (1918), to Vice-President of the United States (1920), to President (1923-1928).

Sub-Series A: Correspondence

Sub-Series B: Writings

Sub-Series C: Photographs

Sub-Series D: Other Documents