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Minard-Dickinson Family papers

 Collection
Identifier: BUSC-1980-001

Scope and Contents

The Minard-Dickinson family papers cover the years 1850 to 1964, with emphasis on the first quarter of the twentieth century. The major portion of the collection is the correspondence of Charles Monroe Dickinson and his second wife, Alice Bond Minard Dickinson, but also includes poems, other correspondence, financial records, photographs, and geneaology.

The general correspondence makes up most of the important part of the collection, beginning soon after Mr. Dickinson's diplomatic career ends. There is a wide range of political correspondence from 1912 to 1914. It is also during this period that Mr. Dickinson exchanged frequent letters with John L. Stoddard, famous author and traveler. These letters may be important indicators of the turmoil in Europe just before World War I. The correspondence between Hugh and Mary Poynter and Dickinson (addressed to him as, “Dearest Good Man”), from 1917 to 1922 gives insights to British and American opinion during and after World War I.

Mr. Dickinson's diplomatic career is covered more completely by the collection in the Library of Congress, but his 1922 letters to Henry Morgenthau, Oscar S. Heizer, Wilbur Carr, and Douglas Robinson offer further insights to the abduction-ransoming incident involving Miss Ellen M. Stone in 1901.

The incident concerning Daniel Stevens Dickinson (1800 - 1866), who was a New York State delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1852 is explained in detail in Charles Monroe Dickinson's letters to Ray Franklin Nichols of September 7 and November 6, 1922. They offer substantiation to the theory that by refusing to allow his name to be placed in nomination for the presidency by the Virginia and North Carolina delegations, Daniel S. Dickinson in effect denied his own chances and threw the convention to Franklin Pierce who was later elected president. This incident is referred to in other 1922 correspondence.

Charles and Alice Dickinson's home in Binghamton, New York, on South Mountain is documented through photographs and financial records.

The material continues after the death of Mr. Dickinson in 1924, in the form of the correspondence of his second wife and her subsequent career as a prominent community and state club leader. Still another group of papers covers the financial affairs of several members of the family.

There is a small amount of material related to other family members, including Alice Bond Minard Dickinson's parents, Mary and Elias Minard. These papers include financial records, photographs, correspondence, and Mary's interior design planning.

Dates

  • 1850 - 1964
  • Majority of material found within 1900 - 1964

Conditions Governing Access

This collection has been reviewed for restrictions and is open for research.

Historical Note

The Dickinson-Minard families were made up of multiple generations of New York state residents. The oldest generation is made up of Elias Minard, a minister and landowner, and his wife Mary Adrience Minard. The couple had a daughter, Alice Bond Minard in 1897, and she married Charles Monroe Dickinson, a diplomat, lawyer, and poet, in 1910. Alice was Charles' second wife.

For biographies of individuals, see each family member's series.

Extent

6 Linear Feet (11 boxes and 1 mapcase folder)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

This collection includes personal and professional correspondence of Charles Monroe Dickinson and his second wife, Alice Bond Minard Dickinson Balog, as well as legal and financial papers of the Dickinson and Minard families and newspaper clippings which document their activities.

Arrangement

This collection is divided into 8 series.

Series:

  1. Elias Minard
  2. Mary Adriance Minard
  3. Charles Monroe Dickinson
  4. Bessie Virginia Hotchkiss Dickinson
  5. Alice Bond Minard Dickinson
  6. Charles and Alice Dickinson shared papers
  7. Family genealogy
  8. Photographs

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated to Binghamton University by the Balog family, and was first processed in 1980. In 2020, additional photographs of South Mountain Park were purchased with Mark Kulikowski Collection Endowment funds.

Related Materials

Charles M. Dickinson's professional papers related to his diplomatic career, law practice, and writings are held by the Library of Congress.

Separated Materials

A notebook containing chemical compounds and various recipes with the book-label of Simon Veeder on the front pastedown was removed to the Small Manuscripts collection, as no connection with the Minard or Dickinson families could be made.

Processing Information

The collection was processed in 1980, including arranging the correspondence in chronological order.

In 2023, Madison White (Archival Processing Manager), re-processed the collection. During the 1980 processing, most of the material that was not correspondence had been placed in boxes labelled "Miscellaneous" and photos had been left in frames. For this reason, White reorganized the collection and placed materials into more descriptive folders. Photos were removed from their frames and put into mylar sleeves. Files were reorganized into series based on the family members. A new finding aid was created to reflect the new arrangement. Several photos of the South Mountain Estate were also added to the collection.

Title
Guide to the the Minard-Dickinson Family papers
Status
Completed
Author
Madison White (Archival Processing Manager)
Date
2023
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Binghamton University Libraries Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Binghamton NY 13902 USA