Contents


Collection Overview

Administrative Information

Biographical Note

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Organization of the Collection

Search Terms

Series 1. Erasmus Darwin Hudson, Sr., Papers 1809-1880

Series 2. E. Darwin Hudson, Jr., Family Papers 1862-1951, n.d.

Series 3. Fowler, Shaw, Clarke, and Cooke Family Papers 1807-1886, n.d.

Series 4. Photographs 1873-1879

Series 5: Printed Materials

Series 6. Copies of Materials Located in Other Repositories

Series 7. Accretion

Hudson Family Papers, 1807-1963

Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Laurie B. Gans.

Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

2002

Collection Overview

Creator: Hudson Family
Title: Hudson Family Papers
Dates: 1807-1963
Abstract: Papers from five generations of five New England families, principally the Hudson family (antislavery organizer and prosthetic physician Erasmus Darwin Hudson and thoracic physician and educator Erasmus Darwin Hudson, Junior). Includes journals, correspondence, account books, family records and writings, notes on branches of medicine, handwritten drafts of lectures, clippings, certificates, photographs, and printed materials. Also contains genealogies of the Hudson, Shaw, Clarke, Fowler, and Cooke families.
Extent: 6 boxes(3 linear ft.)
Language: English.
Identification: MS 332

Administrative Information

Acquired from Sidney Kaplan in 1979. Accretion acquired from Arvilla Dyer, 1984. Copies of related papers were received from the Smith College Sophia Smith Collection, the Forbes Library, and the Northampton Historical Society in 1983.

Separated Material

The following books have been transferred to the Rare Books stacks:

Barber, John Warner, Historical Collections: Being a General Collection of Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes & c., Relating to the History and Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts, with Geographical Descriptions, Illustrated by 200 Engravings. Worcester: Dorr Howland & Co., 1840. Call number: Special Collections F64 B23 1840.

Darby, William, and Theodore Dwight, Jr., A New Gazetteer of the United States of America. Hartford: Edward Hopkins, 1833. Call number: Special Collections E 154 D21 1833.

Additional Hudson family papers passed from Clara Elizabeth Hudson, either directly or indirectly, to the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College, the Forbes Library, the Northampton Historical Society (all in Northampton, Mass.), and the Shaw Memorial Library and Shaw Historical Homestead (Plainfield, Mass.). Photocopies of some of these materials are available in the collection.

Processed by Laurie B. Gans, October 1983.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Hudson Family Papers (MS 332). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The collection is open for research.

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Biographical Note

Erasmus Darwin Hudson, Sr. (1806-1880), was an anti-slavery organizer, agent for the Connecticut and American Anti-Slavery Societies between 1838-1849, pioneer orthopedic surgeon, and inventor of prosthetic devices.

1806
1823-1827 Studied medicine with Dr. Remus M. Fowler, New Marlboro, MA; then at Berkshire Medical College (Pittsfield, MA), a branch of Williams College
1827 Received M.D. from Berkshire Medical College; member of Berkshire Historical Society; married Martha Turner, daughter of Deacon Isaac and Martha Humphrey Turner of Marlboro, MA
1828-1833 Private medical practice, Bloomfield, CT; member Hopkins Medical Association, Hartford County Medical Society, Connecticut Medical Society; physician and surgeon, Connecticut State Emigrant Hospital; temperance advocate and local leader in philanthropic work
1833-1837 Co-principal, with Rev. Epaphras Goodman, of Goodman and Hudson's Family Boarding School, Torringford, CT
1838-1839 Lecturing agent, Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society
1839-1850 General agent, American Anti-Slavery Society; circuit included in turn, Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware; family relocated to Oberlin, OH, then to Northampton, MA
1850-1855 Orthopedic surgeon in private practice, Springfield, MA
1855-1880 Orthopedic surgeon in private practice, New York City
ca. 1861-1865 Commission from Surgeon General of United States Army for the care and treatment of wounded soldiers requiring amputation and resection at the military hospital at Central Park in New York City and other hospitals; invented orthopedic apparatus, and wrote related surgical reports to the United States Sanitary Commission.
1867 Received awards for orthopedic apparatus, Exposition Universelle, Paris, France
1872 European Tour
1876 Received awards for surgical apparatus, Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia, PA
1880 Died of pneumonia December 31 in Riverside, Greenwich, CT

See Series 1, folder 5 for a bibliography of E.D. Hudson, Sr.'s published writings.

Erasmus Darwin Hudson, Jr. (1843-1887), was a thoracic physician and educator.

1843 Born November 10, Northampton, MA, to Erasmus Darwin, Sr. and Martha Turner Hudson
1855 Moved with family to New York City, attended public schools
1864 Graduated from College of the City of New York
1867 Received M.D. from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons
1867-1868 House surgeon, Bellevue Hospital, and private practice, New York City
1869-1870 Health Inspector, New York City
1870-1880 Attending physician, Bellevue Hospital, Trinity House, and Trinity Chapel Parish; professor, Women's Medical College of the New York Infirmary; consultant to other physicians
1871 Married Laura Shaw, daughter of Dr. Samuel and Elizabeth Clarke Shaw of Plainfield, MA
1880-1887 Professor, New York Polyclinic; attending physician Bellevue and St. Elizabeth's Hospital, New York City; librarian and member of the Library Committee, New York Academy of Medicine; chairman, Ethics Committee, Medical Society of the County
1887 Died of pneumonia May 9 in New York City

See Series 2, folder 1 for bibliography of E.D. Hudson, Jr.'s published writings.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Hudson Family Papers (1807-1963) derive from five generations of five New England families. They include the Hudsons and those related to them by marriage: the Fowler, Shaw, Clarke, and Cooke families.

Of principal interest are the papers, 1809-1880, n.d., of Erasmus Darwin Hudson, Sr. (1806-1880) which document through journals, correspondence, and writings, his service with the Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society and eleven-year tenure with the American Anti-Slavery Society (A.A.-S.S.). Covering a circuit of at least eleven states in the Midwest, middle-Atlantic region, and his native New England between 1839 and 1850, Hudson recorded, often daily, his experiences organizing local anti-slavery societies: traveling, arranging meetings, attending conventions, raising funds, confronting what was frequently violent opposition, and maintaining contact with supporters of abolition such as William Lloyd Garrison, Sydney Gay, Isaac Hopper, Abby Kelley, Wendell Phillips, Gerrit Smith, Theodore Weld, and Henry Wright.

In some respects the wealth of information contained in Hudson's papers is not easily accessible. His handwriting poses one obstacle; his wife and other correspondents admonish him on this count. In addition, it was characteristic of him, particularly in the early years, to incorporate indiscriminately into a single volume financial records pertaining to the A.A.-S.S., personal financial records, and a faithful record of events, making it difficult for the reader to follow any one of these lines chronologically or thematically. Another factor is the amount of space he devotes to the reiteration of his moral stance, which had also motivated his establishing a boarding school with the Reverend Epaphras Goodman, as well as his temperance work. These problems can be circumvented owing to the contributions to the papers by their donor, Sidney Kaplan. The transcripts Kaplan prepared for most of the collection often include underlining to highlight names, dates, and places. He has also provided identification for many items and fragments, and an invaluable calendar of selected items (filed in the first folder of Box 1). Viewed from another perspective, Hudson's eclectic style offers a sense of immediacy--a vivid account of his daily life and convictions until his participation in the A.A.-S.S. drew to a close (coinciding with the movement's shifting emphasis from evangelism to politics). Samples of the articles Hudson wrote for The Liberator and the Anti-Slavery Standard (Boston and New York, 1837-1849), and The Charter Oak (Hartford, 1838-1841), which he co-edited, must be sought from other sources.

Regarding Hudson's medical career, more material is available from his student years and private practice in Connecticut (e.g., notes, financial and academic records, and letters of recommendation) than from the period beginning in 1850, when he adopted orthopedic surgery as his specialty, becoming a distinguished inventor of prosthetic devices during and after the Civil War. In later years he cultivated an interest in family history and acquired most of the Hudson and Fowler genealogies included in the papers.

The son of Erasmus Darwin and Martha Turner Hudson, E. Darwin Hudson, Jr. (1843-1887), also achieved prominence as a physician, and his papers, 1862-1887, establish his credentials as a surgeon, educator, public health officer, staff physician at several hospitals, and consultant, all in New York City. As such, they tend to include more biographical records (e.g., certificates, letters of award and appointment, and printed materials) than personal papers. Insight into Hudson Jr.'s character can be gathered from his private correspondence, and from a lengthy memorial address, 1887, delivered by a fellow physician, Laurence Johnson.

The Hudson Family Papers contain correspondence, legal and financial records, writings, genealogies, clippings and other printed materials relating to extended family members who may be considered significant in a regional context. Clara Elizabeth Hudson (1880-1963) was a community leader and the last of the Hudsons. Her papers, 1923-1951, and her book of family and local history, Plain Tales from Plainfield, provide several important links within this diverse collection. Samuel Shaw (1790-1869), a physician in Plainfield, MA, his son, Samuel Francis Shaw (b.1833), a surgeon who served in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, Charles Lyman Shaw (1842-1902), an educator, and Anne Laura Clarke (1788-1861), who traveled widely as a lecturer on history and who originated many of the Cooke and Clarke family records in the collection, are represented each by fewer than a dozen items. Even less is contained here for Martha Turner Hudson (1806-1887), Laura Shaw Hudson (1846-1921), Darwin Shaw Hudson (1876-1959), Sibyl Catlin Fowler (ca. 1787-1855), Elizabeth Clarke Shaw (ca. 1799-1863), and Stella Augusta Shaw (b. 1835). There is also a folder of unidentified letters, writings and fragments.

The accretion from Arvilla Dyer, 1984, includes Erasmus D. Hudson, Sr. correspondence, 1837-1888; bio-bibliographic materials; journal "1845?"; writings; letters to Martha Turner Hudson. Also additional materials re: Erasmus Darwin Hudson, Jr., Clara Hudson, and Samuel Shaw.

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Search Terms

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Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into seven series:

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Series 1. Erasmus Darwin Hudson, Sr., Papers 1809-1880

Subseries A: Bio-Bibliographical


Box
Folder
1 1
Hudson Family records before E.D. 1809, ca. 1875

2
Letters of introduction and recommendation 1825-1841

3
Legal, financial, and educational records 1827-1833

4
Map of New York State showing Hudson's anti-slavery journeys ca. 1841-1850

5
List of publications of E.D. Hudson, Sr. from National Union Catalogue

Subseries B: Journals


Box
Folder
1 6
Journal 1832-1838 (of Daniel Hudson, 1831)

7
Journal 1838

8
Journal (1838), 1842, 1845

9
Journal 1839-1840

10
Journal February-April, 1840

11
Journal 1840-1842

12
Journal October, 1840-February, 1841

Subseries C: Correspondence


Box
Folder
1 13
Correspondence 1825-1829

14
Correspondence 1830-1834

15
Correspondence 1835-1838

16
Correspondence 1839

17
Correspondence 1840

18
Correspondence 1841

19
Correspondence 1842

20
Correspondence 1843

21
Correspondence 1844

22
Correspondence 1845

23
Correspondence 1846

24
Correspondence 1847

25
Correspondence 1848

26
Correspondence 1851-1854

27
Correspondence 1861-1880

28
Correspondence n.d.

Subseries D: Writings


Box
Folder
1 29
Medical, moral, and on brother Daniel's death 1831-1834

30
Notes from Columbiana County Convention of Abolitionists 1841

31
Anti-slavery writings n.d.

Subseries E: Transcripts


Box
Folder
2 32
Journal 1838

33
Journal (1838), 1842, 1845

34
Journal 1839-1840

35
Journal, February-April, 1840

36
Journal October, 1840-February, 1841

37
Journal (permanent copy), 1842-1843

38
Journal (permanent copy) 1845

39
Correspondence 1825-1829

40
Correspondence 1830

41
Correspondence 1831

42
Correspondence 1832

43
Correspondence 1833-1834

44
Correspondence 1835-1836

45
Correspondence 1837-1838

46
Correspondence 1839

47
Correspondence 1840

48
Correspondence 1841

49
Correspondence January-June, 1842

50
Correspondence July-October, 1842

51
Correspondence January-August, 1843

52
Correspondence September-October, 1843

53
Correspondence 1844

54
Correspondence January-April, 1845

55
Correspondence July-November, 1845

56
Correspondence 1846

57
Correspondence 1847

58
Correspondence 1848

59
Correspondence 1851-1854

60
Correspondence 1861-1870

61
Correspondence miscellaneous, n.d.

62
Writings 1831-1834

Subseries F: Martha Turner Hudson


Box
Folder
2 63
Incoming letters 1831-1842, n.d.

64
Transcripts of incoming letters 1831-1842, n.d.

Series 2. E. Darwin Hudson, Jr., Family Papers 1862-1951, n.d.

Subseries A: E. Darwin Hudson, Jr.


Box
Folder
3 1
Certificates, letters of award and appointment, and printed biographical records 1868-1887

2
Outgoing letters 1869-1880

3
Letters and tributes on his death 1887

Subseries B: Laura Shaw Hudson


Box
Folder
3 4
Outgoing letters 1862-1880, n.d.

Subseries C: Darwin Shaw Hudson


Box
Folder
3 5
Certificates and printed materials 1894-1924

Subseries D: Clara Elizabeth Hudson


Box
Folder
3 6
Typescripts of writings, 1947, 1951; and financial record, 1923

Series 3. Fowler, Shaw, Clarke, and Cooke Family Papers 1807-1886, n.d.

Subseries A: Fowler Family


Box
Folder
3 1
Genealogical records

2
Sibyl Catlin Fowler Papers 1837, n.d.

Subseries B: Shaw Family


Box
Folder
3 3
Genealogical records

4
Samuel Shaw Papers 1826-1867, n.d.

5
Elizabeth Clarke Shaw, Correspondence 1829-1863, n.d.

6
Stella Augusta Shaw, incoming letters 1863-1880

7
Samuel Francis Shaw Papers 1855-1880

8
Charles Lyman Shaw, writings ca. 1894

Subseries C: Clarke Family


Box
Folder
3 9
Genealogical records

10
Anne Laura Clarke Papers 1815-1864, n.d.

11
Other Clarkes 1807, 1886, n.d.

Subseries D: Cooke Family


Box
Folder
3 12
Genealogies; transcript of Aaron Cooke's will; account of Minutemen; all n.d.

Subseries E: Unidentified manuscripts


Box
Folder
3 13
Unidentified letters, writings, and fragments

Series 4. Photographs 1873-1879


Box
Folder
3 1
Hudson Family

Series 5: Printed Materials


Box
Folder
3 1
E.D. Hudson, Sr.

2
E.D. Hudson, Jr. and family

3
Clara Hudson, Plain Tales from Plainfield

4
Fowler genealogies

5
Photocopies of excerpts from Samuel Orcutt, History of Torringford 1878

Box
Folder
4 6
Samuel Orcutt, History of Torringford 1878

7
Nahum Mitchell, History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater 1840

8
Photo of a letter to E.D. Hudson Sr., removed from Mitchell's history of Bridgewater

9
"An Address to the Anti-Slavery Christians"; "Articles of Faith and Covenant...Congregational Church in Torringford."

10
Miscellaneous

Series 6. Copies of Materials Located in Other Repositories


Box
Folder
3 1
Photocopy of inventory of the Hudson Collection in Smith College Sophia Smith Collection, Northampton, MA

2
Photocopies of the Clara E. Hudson Papers in the Forbes Library, Northampton, MA


NO SERIES NUMBER: CARBON COPIES AND EARLY DRAFTS OF TRANSCRIPTS IN COLLECTION

Box
Folder
5 1
File cards for correspondence (incomplete)

2
Transcript of journal 1842-1843

3
Transcript of journal 1845

4
Transcripts of correspondence: early drafts

5
Transcripts of correspondence: carbon copies

6
Transcripts: miscellaneous; early drafts

7
Calendar of Selected Items

Series 7. Accretion

Subseries A: Erasmus Darwin Hudson, Sr.


Box
Folder
6 1
Bio-bibliographic materials 1853-1883

2
Journal 1853-1883, 1845?

3
Correspondence (originals) 1837-1888, n.d.

4
Correspondence, (photocopies) 1837-1846

5
Correspondence, (photocopies) 1847-1848

6
Correspondence, (photocopies) 1849-1858

7
Correspondence, (photocopies) 1861

8
Correspondence, (photocopies) 1862

9
Correspondence, (photocopies) 1863-1866

10
Correspondence, (photocopies) 1868-1869

11
Correspondence, (photocopies) 1870-1871

12
Correspondence, (photocopies) 1872

13
Correspondence, (photocopies) 1875-1877

14
Correspondence, (photocopies) 1880, n.d.

15
Writings, undated

16
Letters to Martha Hudson, (originals) 1862-1881

17
Letters to Martha Hudson, (photocopies) 1862-1881

Subseries B: Erasmus Darwin Hudson, Jr.


Box
Folder
6 18
Notebook of essays, 1861; copyright contract, 1886; memorial tribute to classmate (?)Andrew Quakinbush, Jr.

Subseries C: Clara Hudson


Box
Folder
6 19
Journal n.d.

Subseries D: Samuel Shaw


Box
Folder
6 20
Article of agreement for forming partnership, 1818

Subseries E: Unidentified


Box
Folder
6 21
Two lithographs, two poems