This subseries contains James Freeman Clarke's correspondence with individuals outside his family. Included are many letters from Clarke to his Harvard classmate, lawyer and Congressman George Thomas Davis, and Davis's wife Harriet T. (Russell) Davis; letters of sympathy Clarke received after the death of his son Herman in 1849 from Theodore Parker and others; and letters from Harvard president Thomas Hill about the education of Eliot Channing Clarke. Other correspondents include William Henry Channing, Caroline Wells (Healey) Dall, Thomas H. Gill, and Anna Quincy Thaxter Parsons.

The subseries also contains oversize deeds for land Clarke owned in Boston, Newton, and elsewhere, including a lease for Brook Farm in West Roxbury, Massachusetts; extracts of Channing's letters copied by Anna (Huidekoper) Clarke; a small 1840 letterbook with onion-skin copies of James F. Clarke's outgoing correspondence and memoranda; oversize plans, architectural drawings, and blueprints; some letters apparently retained for their autograph value; a few bills, primarily dating from a trip to Europe in 1882; correspondence and receipts related to Clarke's property in Magnolia, Massachusetts, including letters from Thomas Jefferson Coolidge and Lucius M. Sargent; and a typescript list of Clarke's papers at Harvard University. Letters and ephemera related to professional associations with which Clarke was affiliated include printed matter from the 1849 Paris Peace Conference; menus of Harvard Class of 1829 dinners; notices of election and invitations to join organizations; and tally cards, tickets, and other printed matter from the Republican National Convention at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1876. Much of this material was annotated by Clarke.

This subseries includes five oversize manuscript posters by Franklin Wilder (1813-1892), a patient at the Northampton General Lunatic Asylum, sent to Clarke in 1878. The posters contain drawings of symbols, religious quotations, and lengthy messages about conspiracies and secret societies, such as the Masons.

The bulk of this subseries consists of manuscript sermons, but also included are lectures, notes, and poems. Many of Clarke's sermons were delivered on more than one occasion. A large number of the writings in this subseries are drafts or fragments, and many are undated. The earliest piece is a poem called "On a Bird," written by Clarke when he was seven years old.

This subseries consists of 15 scrapbooks related to James Freeman Clarke. Eight scrapbooks contain printed copies of Clarke's sermons, and seven scrapbooks contain miscellaneous material, including clippings of his writings and newspaper articles about him, family members, and topics of interest. One scrapbook (Scrapbook I) relates almost exclusively to slavery and includes handwritten memoranda by Clarke.

This subseries contains a sketchbook by Clarke titled "Designs and Sketches together with Copies of engraved figures Drawings &c." The volume includes pencil and ink studies of facial features, heads, figures, architectural features, and landscapes, as well as poetry and extensive annotations about art. The subseries also contains a small paperbound ledger of Western Messenger, Unitarian Church, and church library accounts; passports and passport books; and check registers.

This subseries contains newspaper clippings about James Freeman Clarke, including a large number of obituaries from June 1888, as well as copies of some of his sermons and poems published in newspapers.

This subseries contains Sarah Freeman Clarke's correspondence with individuals outside her family, including a few letters to friends Anna Quincy Thaxter Parsons and Ednah Dow (Littlehale) Cheney on women's suffrage in Marietta, Georgia, and other matters. Box 42 contains a letter from Mary Tyler (Peabody) Mann on the death of her husband Horace Mann, as well as letters from Sophia (Peabody) Hawthorne and Fanny Kemble. Some letters in this subseries were written in French or Italian. Also included are three volumes of personal accounts and memoranda kept by Clarke, the first on a trip to Europe, 1876-1878; the second in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, and Marietta, 1890; and the third in Marietta, 1893. The second volume includes notes about paintings exhibited. This subseries also contains a manuscript narrative, apparently an unpublished story by Clarke, titled "Memoirs of a woman who did her own business," as well as a small undated paperbound volume of notes from a female debating society or conversation club.

This subseries consists primarily of letters to Anna (Huidekoper) Clarke from individuals outside her family. Correspondents include Martha Eliza (Humphrey) Chappotin; Caroline Wells (Healey) Dall; Jerusha Dewey of Sheffield, Massachusetts; Mrs. E. J. Hale of Petersboro, New Hampshire; Louisa Caroline Jeffery; Sophia Apollonia Mappa; Laurana (Crane) Munroe; Anna Quincy Thaxter Parsons; Elizabeth Palmer Peabody; Susan Bradford Wallace (later Macalester) and Mary Binney Wallace (later Riddle) of Philadelphia; and many others. Much of Clarke's correspondence relates to her charitable work. Also included are some financial papers; returned checks; Clarke's reminiscences of her son Herman, who died in 1849; and printed obituaries of her brother Edgar Huidekoper, 1862.

The subseries also contains three volumes, including a paperbound estate inventory, apparently an inventory of real estate, bonds, stocks, and other property owned by James Freeman Clarke at his death in 1888, as well as debts, copyrights, and income. Most of the volume is in Eliot Channing Clarke's hand, with further annotations by Anna H. Clarke related to dispensations. The front cover reads: "Property of A.H.C." The other two volumes are an account book listing household and family expenses, investment income, wages to household staff, gifts, charitable donations, and other accounts, and a small paper-bound volume showing subscription dues paid for a publication called Little Unity.

This subseries contains Eliot Channing Clarke's correspondence with individuals outside his family, bills and receipts, volumes, and other papers. Correspondence consists primarily of a large number of letters from young men accepting or declining invitations to two dinner dances Clarke hosted for his daughter Anna Huidekoper Clarke in February 1904, probably for her "coming out" as a debutante. The subseries also includes many household bills and receipts; an account book of real estate, bonds, stocks, and other property owned by Clarke and his wife; and a scrapbook of printed and other material related to Harvard College (Class of 1867).

Because of its fragile condition, the Harvard scrapbook was disbound by the MHS in 2023. The original order of the contents has been retained, and oversize items, such as Clarke's Eliot High School and Harvard diplomas, have been removed to oversize. The scrapbook includes writings by Clarke; programs, invitations, and ticket stubs; newspaper clippings about the Civil War and about Harvard, particularly the College Regatta and other athletic events; correspondence; and curricula and tests.

The subseries also contains a few undated volumes, including a commonplace-book (mostly blank) and a penmanship book written by Clarke as a child, as well as three sketchbooks with pencil drawings by Clarke of architectural elements, trees, outdoor scenes, and other subjects.

This subseries contains Alice de Vermandois (Sohier) Clarke's correspondence with individuals outside her family, including Agnes G. Balch, Ellen Barnard, Amy Morris Bradley, Edward Everett Hale, Hannah Hathaway Kimball, Helen Frances Kimball, and Helen Paine. Included are calling cards and invitations addressed to the Misses Sohier (Alice and her sister Elizabeth Putnam Sohier) in 1869, as well as letters about the education of Alice's children. The subseries also contains bills and receipts, many of them related to her marriage to Eliot Channing Clarke in 1878; a diary she kept when she was a teenager describing her daily activities, social activities with friends and family, sewing, reading, etc.; five Greek lesson notebooks; three account books of personal and household expenses; and two volumes listing social calls she made and received, with miscellaneous loose scraps of papers and cards listing calls.

Also included are papers related to Clarke's work as historian of the Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America and on the Eligibility Committee. These papers consist of letters about the genealogy of prospective members, invitations to events from state chapters, and other correspondence; research notes on qualifying ancestors; printed matter and other papers related to eligibility requirements; and a genealogical index.

The subseries also contains correspondence, memoranda, and other papers documenting Clarke's work with the Boston Female Asylum. Among the girls named in this material are Annabelle Parker, Florence Robbins, Edith Turner, Ida Hooker, and Grace Smith. Some papers describe the girls' family history, health, emotional state, and moral character, as well as physical abuse in homes where they boarded. Included are personal letters from Turner and Smith about their experiences, letters of reference, notes on classes offered by the organization, and a copy of the printed pamphlet An Account of the Boston Female Asylum, 1008 Washington Street (1898).

This subseries consists of Cora Huidekoper Clarke's correspondence with individuals outside her family, bills and receipts, and undated school papers. Included are letters from Jane Alexander, Annie Corliss (Taber) Hyde, Anne L. Read, Mary T. Saunders, and Helen M. Tower. School papers consist of a volume of typescript drafts of writings and lectures by Clarke related to gardens, flowers and other plants, literature, and life after graduation, with some handwritten annotations and sketches. This volume was disbound by the MHS in 2023, and the original order of the contents has been retained.

This subseries contains letters to Susan Lowell Clarke from individuals outside her family; bills, receipts, returned checks, and bank statements; passport papers; papers related to the estates of Rebecca Amory Lowell and John Amory Lowell, of which Clarke was a beneficiary; stories she wrote as a child; and an undated cotillion book listing her partners for various dances, with miscellaneous sketches. Letters from Bryn Mawr friends and others discuss Clarke's activities in Europe in 1909-1910, the end of her engagement to Christian Huidekoper due to his unspecified mental illness, her work with the Woman's Education Association providing scholarships to immigrants for Americanization courses, and other matters. Among the correspondents are Mary R. Black, Gertrude (Smyth) Buell, Ednah Anne (Rich) Morse, and Louise Lyman (Peck) White of Palenville, New York. Bills and receipts include those in Clarke's name, as well as those in her father's name, dated after his death and apparently paid by her. Box 44 contains two letters apparently to Eira Katherine Lloyd (1903-1950), who traveled from Wales to stay with Clarke in 1919.

This subseries consists primarily of a disbound album of postcards from James Freeman Clarke, the grandson of Rev. James Freeman Clarke, sent to family members during a trip to Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England. Subjects include the voyage, sights seen, and letters received. Also included are a few postcards from others. Because of its fragile condition, the volume was disbound by the MHS in 2023, but the original order of the postcards has been retained. This subseries also contains a folder of bills and receipts, mostly related to the upkeep and storage of Clarke's car, as well as one chapter of a typescript history of the Dugout Club, written by an unknown author. The Dugout Club was a social club for World War I veterans, and Clarke was a member.

The Perry-Clarke additions, when donated to the MHS, included a number of boxes of unsorted Clarke family material. Papers with identifiable authors and/or recipients have been moved to the appropriate series or subseries. This subseries contains papers with unidentifiable or miscellaneous authors and/or recipients, including correspondence, deeds, writings, genealogical material, manuscript fragments, and a large number of calling cards. Included are items that may have been collected or retained for their autograph value, such as autographs of Barbara Isabella Buchanan, Caroline Wells (Healey) Dall, Eleuterio Felice Foresti, Joguth Chunder Gangooly, William Channing Gannett, Francis Jackson Garrison, Harriet Hosmer, Mary Howitt, Mary Tyler (Peabody) Mann, James Martineau, John Hamilton Thom, Adeline Dutton (Train) Whitney, and Roger Wolcott (1847-1900), as well as an album of onionskin copies of autographs of Lajos Kossuth, primarily dating from his tour of Great Britain and the United States in the 1850s.

This subseries consists of six deeds for property purchased and sold by Obadiah Curtis, including land in Newton, Massachusetts, and a house and land on Marlborough Street in Boston.

This letterbook contains copies of the outgoing correspondence of Capt. Constant Freeman, 7 March 1768-12 November 1777. Included are letters written while he was in Bristol, England; Kingston, Jamaica; Charleston, South Carolina; Quebec, Canada; Boston, Massachusetts; Haiti; and other places, primarily related to shipping concerns, such as cargo (including molasses and rum), bills, and markets. The volume also contains a few letters to his children, written in 1775 when Freeman was in Quebec, about the death of his wife Lois (Cobb) Freeman and the outbreak of the American Revolution, as well as portage bills for ships of which Freeman was master. These bills list the names of individual sailors, including a Black man named Cato, and the wages each was paid.

This subseries consists exclusively of papers of James Freeman Clarke's grandfather William Hull related to the Connecticut Land Company and Hull's ownership of property in the Connecticut Western Reserve in Ohio. Included is correspondence with Pierpont Edwards, William Ewing, Elihu Chauncey Goodrich, Elizur Goodrich, William Judd, John Livingston, Isaac Mills, Oliver Phelps, Ephraim Root, and others, as well as agreements, promissory notes, memoranda, and other papers.

The scrapbook consists almost exclusively of letters from Anna Cabot Lowell to friends and family, primarily Ann Bromfield (later Tracy), but also friends Susan (Palfrey) Lee, Penelope (Russell) Sedgwick, Sarah (Russell) Sullivan, and Mary (Amory) Bethune; brother and sister-in-law, John and Rebecca (Amory) Lowell; sisters Sarah Champney Lowell, Susan Cabot (Lowell) Gorham, and Elizabeth Cutts (Lowell) Dutton; brother-in-law Warren Dutton; and stepmother Rebecca (Russell) Lowell. Letters relate primarily to personal, family, social, and religious matters, although letters to her brother John, written while he was abroad, include discussions of local news and national politics, such as the 1804 duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Many letters discuss Anna C. Lowell's health and her admiration for Scottish author Anne MacVicar Grant. The scrapbook also contains letters written during Lowell's trip to England, Wales, the Netherlands, and France in 1805, including passages about the Napoleonic Wars. This scrapbook was compiled by her niece and namesake, Anna Cabot Lowell (1808-1894), in 1881 and disbound by the MHS in 2013. The order of the pages was retained. Some letters have sections cut out.

This subseries consists of two letters from Harm Jan Huidekoper to William Ellery Channing related to Unitarian publications and one letter to Huidekoper from Sophia Apollonia Mappa on the upcoming marriage of Anna Huidekoper and James Freeman Clarke, as well as other matters.

Rebecca Amory Lowell's papers consist primarily of volumes arranged into three groups: Sunday School notebooks; commonplace-books containing memoranda from her reading; and miscellaneous volumes, including two travel diaries, an account book, and lists of books read. There is some overlap between the first two groups; Sunday School notebooks contain specific lessons, but some commonplace-books also indicate they were intended for use in classes. Several volumes include the names of students and lists of books lent. Titles in quotation marks are taken directly from volumes. The subseries also contains miscellaneous personal papers.

This subseries consists of two commonplace-books of poetry by various poets, copied by Frances Augusta Greene Amory.

This subseries consists of two volumes kept by Georgina Margaret (Amory) Lowell: a commonplace-book of poetry titled "Extracts by Georgina Margaret Amory / July 1822 Roxbury Broomley Vale" and apparently given to her cousin Anna Cabot Lowell (1808-1894) in October 1824; and a diary, kept at Boston, describing the growth, health, and development of Lowell's two young children, Georgina and Anna.

This volume contains recipes for foods, medicines, and cleaning products, as well as first aid instructions, mostly undated. Higginson collected many of the recipes from other people and clipped some from newspapers.

The bulk of this subseries consists of papers of Susan Cabot (Lowell) Sohier, primarily volumes containing notes on sermons and scripture, as well as her religious resolutions. Additional volumes include a mostly blank album containing one poem and reproductions of engravings; two personal account books, one of which lists clothes, household furnishings, and other items purchased for her wedding in 1846; a small homemade "magazine" of stories, apparently written by Sohier as a child; and a small volume of instructions to household staff for daily cleaning, child care, etc.

The subseries also contains a volume titled "Preferences," in which various individuals recorded their answers to questions about likes and dislikes, such as favorite author, animal, food, etc. The questions are written at the end of the volume. The names of Susan Sohier and Alice de Vermandois (Sohier) Clarke are listed on the first page, but answers were written in different hands. Included are answers of Lowell and Sohier family members, as well as Edward Everett Hale, Henry Wilder Foote, Robert Collyer, and others.

Loose papers include receipts of Susan and William Sohier related to the marriage of their daughter Alice to Eliot Channing Clarke. Among the items purchased were clothes, furniture, dishes, and wedding cards.

This sketchbook contains only one ink sketch, signed with the initials B.F.A., accompanying part of a poem. The rest of the volume is blank.

This volume, titled "Statement of Property owned by William P. Upham," lists real estate, including extracts of deeds; stocks; and bonds.

This subseries consists exclusively of papers related to Sara Putnam (Lowell) Blake's work as president and secretary of the Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America. Included is correspondence about membership eligibility, efforts to preserve the Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts, and other matters; many handwritten, typewritten, and printed annual circular letters from state chapters; and undated member admission forms. These forms were sent by other state chapters, on behalf of prospective members who traced their ancestry back to Massachusetts, and include each individual's "right of descent" from a qualified ancestor. They were signed by Blake and other officers of the Massachusetts chapter.

This volume contains genealogical material on the antecedents of the Perry family, including the Colburn and Richards families.

This subseries consists mostly of letters to Elizabeth Putnam Sohier either accepting or declining invitations to join her dancing school. Many of the letters are undated, but were probably written in 1872. Also included is an 1871 letter from Edward Everett Hale to Elizabeth and her sister Alice about gifts exchanged.