Finding aid for the James A. Garfield II Family Papers
Title:
James A. Garfield II Family Papers
Repository:
Western Reserve Historical Society
Phone: 216-721-5722
http://www.wrhs.org
Creator:
Garfield, James A. II
Dates:
1869-1965
Quantity:
1.80 linear feet (6 containers)
Abstract:
 James A. Garfield II was the son of James Rudolph and Helen Newell Garfield, and grandson of United States President James A. Garfield. He was raised with his brothers at Hollycroft, the family home in Mentor, Ohio, next to Lawnfield, residence of Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, the president's widow. He graduated from Williams College in 1916 and served in World War I. He married Edwina Forbes Glenn in 1917. They lived in Cleveland and Mentor, Ohio, while James pursued various business ventures. Edwina moved to Florida with her daughters, Helen Louise and Elizabeth, after the couple divorced in the 1930s. The collection consists of correspondence, an autograph book, scrapbooks, speech reading lessons, drawings, newspaper clippings, and notebooks of President James A. Garfield, James Rudolph and Helen Newell Garfield, and James A. and Edwina Glenn Garfield. The papers relating to President Garfield include a scrapbook compiled in 1874 containing documents which refute charges regarding improprieties in military contract awards, a political tract annotated by President Garfield, and a collection of Garfield "Maxims," as well as commemorative publications and a scrapbook of condolences sent to the family after his death. The collection also contains correspondence and other documents related to James Rudolph and Helen Newell Garfield, including teaching materials for speech reading used by Helen Newell Garfield, and letters of Edwina Glenn Garfield to her husband James A. Garfield II discussing concerns of a young, upper class wife of the 1920s.
Identification:
MS 4580
Location:
closed stacks
Language:
The records are in English

Biography of James A. Garfield II

James A. Garfield II (b. 1894) was the son of James Rudolph Garfield (1865-1951) and Helen Newell Garfield (1866-1930), and grandson of United States President James A. Garfield (1831-1881). He was raised with his brothers John Newell, Rudolph Hills, and Newell, at Hollycroft, the family home in Mentor, Ohio, next to Lawnfield, residence of Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, the widow of the President. He graduated from Williams College in 1916 and served with the 322nd Field Artillery, 1916-1918. He married Edwina Forbes Glenn (b. 1895), daughter of General Edwin and Louise Smythe Glenn, in 1917. They lived in Cleveland and Mentor, while James pursued various business ventures which required frequent travel. Edwina moved to Florida with her daughters, Helen Louise (born 1918) and Elizabeth (born 1921) after the couple divorced in the 1930s.


click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for President James A. Garfield


click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for James Rudolph Garfield

Scope and Content

The James A. Garfield II Family Papers (1869-1965) consist of correspondence, an autographs book, scrapbooks, speech reading lessons, drawings, newspaper clippings, and notebooks of President James A. Garfield, James R. and Helen Garfield, and James A. and Edwina Garfield.

This collection is of interest to scholars of President James A. Garfield, the Garfield family, and to researchers in social history, especially of the 1920s. The papers relating to President James Garfield include a scrapbook compiled in 1874 containing documents which refute charges regarding improprieties in military contract awards; a political tract annotated by Garfield; a collection of Garfield "Maxims", as well as commemorative publications and a scrapbook of condolences sent to the family after his death. This collection includes teaching materials for speech reading (lip reading), which were used by Helen Newell Garfield. She became deaf in 1918, devoted herself to education and rehabilitation of deaf children and adults. She and her husband, James Rudolph Garfield, were founders of the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, and active in national organizations for the deaf education and rehabilitation. The letters of Edwina Glenn to her husband, James A. Garfield II, discuss concerns of a young, upper class wife of the 1920s, including her volunteer work with the Junior League, house hunting, society gossip, servants, and prohibition. She travelled with her two young daughters in France and Italy, 1927-1928, and her letters contain references to French social customs and manners, literature, the cost of living, and differences in expectations between French and American women. She comments on areas of conflict in their marriage, including birth control, drinking, smoking, religious beliefs, raising children, and her desire to find fulfilling work outside the home.

Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series.
Series I: President James Abram Garfield Papers is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Series II: James Rudolph Helen Newell Garfield Papers is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Series III: James A. Garfield II and Edwina Glenn Garfield Papers is arranged by document type and then chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Separated Material: Separated Material

Photographs, prints, and postcards have been removed to the photograph and print collection.


Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center.
Deaf -- Means of communication.
Garfield family.
Garfield, Edwina Glenn, 1895-
Garfield, Helen Newell, 1866-1930.
Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881.
Garfield, James A. (James Abram), II, 1894-
Garfield, James Rudolph, 1865-1950.
Hearing impaired -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Hearing impaired -- United States.
Presidents -- United States -- Family.
Women -- Ohio -- Cleveland.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4580 James A. Garfield II Family Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Lawnfield, Western Reserve Historical Society, 1988.

Processing Information

Processed by Ann B. Ameling in 1991.


Detailed Description of The Collection



Series I: President James Abram Garfield Papers, 1873-1890; undated

Box 1 / Folder 1
Biography, "The Life and Character of James A. Garfield," B. A. Hinsdale, president of Hiram College, 1880




Box 1 / Folder 2
Maxims, James Abram Garfield, undated




Box 1 / Folder 3
Memorials, James A. Garfield, mourning cards, 1881




Box 1 / Folder 4
Memorial Address, Jacob D. Cox, dedication of Garfield Monument, signed by J. D. Cox, May 30, 1890




Box 1 / Folder 5
Pamphlet, A. Tourgee, "Aaron's Rod in Politics," annotated by James A. Garfield, 1880




Box 1 / Folder 6
Scrapbook, "Cowles" and "Brega's Moth Exterminator," Washington, compiled by J. Stanley-Brown, (1874), consisting of a collection of documents by James A Garfield refuting charges made by the Cincinnati Commercial regarding improprieties in military contracts to Cowles and Brega, including copies of correspondence, and pertinent pages from the Congressional Record, 1873




Box 2 / Folder 7
Scrapbook, Resolution of respect tendered to the family of James A. Garfield by Americans and sympathizers resident in Santiago, Chile, October 5, 1881





Series II: Helen Newell and James Rudolph Garfield Papers, 1869-1965; undated

Box 3 / Folder 8
Autograph book, James Rudolph Garfield, with signatures of cabinet members, justices, congressmen and other Washington notables, including William McKinley, James A. Garfield, Alexander Stephens, and William Sherman, 1878




Box 3 / Folder 9
Correspondence, Helen Newell Garfield to son James A. Garfield, 1920-1928




Box 3 / Folder 10
Correspondence, Helen Newell Garfield to children, European travel, 1926




Box 3 / Folder 11
Correspondence, wedding invitations, Harry A. Garfield, 1888




Box 3 / Folder 11
Correspondence, Mary Garfield, 1888




Box 3 / Folder 11
Correspondence, Newell Garfield, 1922




Box 3 / Folder 11
Correspondence, Stanton Garfield, 1922




Box 3 / Folder 11
Correspondence, Christmas card with verse, Katherine Stanley-Brown, 1923




Box 3 / Folder 12
Correspondence, Garfield family, drawings, sketches, undated




Box 3 / Folder 13
Newspaper clippings, Garfield family, 1916




Box 3 / Folder 14
Notebook, lectures on physiology, Williams College, 1885




Box 3 / Folder 15
School certificates, James R. and Harry A. Garfield, 1869-1880




Box 4 / Folder 16
Speech reading, Helen N. Garfield, seminar for teachers of hard of hearing children, notes, 1928




Box 4 / Folder 17
Speech reading, reprints and articles on deaf education and rehabilitations, 1916




Box 4 / Folder 18
Speech reading, Kinzie Method of Speech Reading, undated




Box 4 / Folder 19
Speech reading, Warren Method of Expression Reading, undated




Box 4 / Folder 20-21
Speech reading, exercises, part 1 and part 2, undated




Box 4 / Folder 22
Speech reading, exercises, homophonous sentences, undated




Box 4 / Folder 23
Speech reading, exercises, vowels, undated




Box 4 / Folder 24
Speech reading, exercises, topics for conversation in classes, undated




Box 4 / Folder 25-26
Speech reading, exercises, vowels and consonants, undated




Box 4 / Folder 27
Speech reading, exercises, notes, undated




Box 5 / Folder 28-30
Speech reading, exercises, stories, contests, undated




Box 5 / Folder 31-32
Speech reading, exercises, topics for conversation in classes, undated




Box 5 / Folder 33
Speech reading, exercises, stories, undated




Box 5 / Folder 34
Speech reading, exercises, devices, undated




Box 5 / Folder 35
Speech reading, exercises, contest work, undated




Box 5 / Folder 36
Speech reading, exercises, drills for speech, undated





Series III: James A. Garfield II and Edwina Glenn Garfield papers, .

Box 6 / Folder 37
Children's play, Edwina Garfield, untitled, undated




Box 6 / Folder 38
Correspondence, Calvin Coolidge to James A. Garfield II, November 12, 1924




Box 6 / Folder 39-46
Correspondence, Edwina Glenn Garfield to James A. Garfield II, 1920-1928




Box 6 / Folder 47
Correspondence, Edwina Glenn Garfield to James A. Garfield II, telegrams, 1921-1928




Box 6 / Folder 48
Correspondence, Edwina Glenn Garfield, received, 1927-1928




Box 6 / Folder 49
Correspondence, James A. Garfield II, received, 1917-1928




Box 6 / Folder 50
Correspondence, James A. Garfield II from his children, 1926-1928




Box 6 / Folder 51
Correspondence, James A. Garfield II, program and invitations, Williams College Commencement, 1916; initiation to Loyal Order of Moose, 1920; invitation to Court of Nisi Prius, Cleveland, 1920; program, first annual reunion, 322 Field Artillery, 1921; and invitations, photographs, visa, 1916-1921