Amherst College Alumni Biographical Files, 1821-
351 records storage boxes, 6 archives boxes, 1 half archives box (354.25 linear feet)
Terms of Access and Use:
There is no restriction on access to the Alumni Biographical Files for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.
Requests for permission to publish material from Alumni Biographical Files should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
The Alumni Biographical Files document the lives of Amherst alumni from 1821 to the present. The files contain writings and correspondence of alumni, as well as newspaper articles, photographs and objects relating to their lives and careers. Most alumni files include questionnaires submitted by alumni to the Alumni Office for inclusion in one of the Amherst College Biographical Records. There are also some items that pertain to an entire class, such as copies of class resolutions or class anthologies.
The files are organized chronologically by class year, and wihthin each class in alphabetical order by last name. Files of non-graduates (who are nevertheless considered members of their incoming class) are usually located in a separate alphabetical series at the end of each class group. Information on the entire class is in a folder at the beginning of each class group. Because of this collection's self-indexing arrangement, a box and folder list is omitted in this finding aid; however, there is an appendix that lists unpublished manuscripts in the Alumni Biographical Files and Class Shelves.
There is no restriction on access to the Alumni Biographical Files for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.
Requests for permission to publish material from Alumni Biographical Files should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
[Identification of item], in Alumni Biographical Files [Box #, Folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library
| Class Year | Name | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1827 | Tinker, Reuben | Autobiography. The Life of Reuben Tinker (tss) | |
| 1825 | Class of 1825 | Mss describing class | |
| 1828 | Bullard, Asa | Account of the Class of 1828; Correspondence | |
| 1828 | Hibbard, S. | Volumes of autographs, short verse, diary items, divided by freshman, sophomore, junior and senior, 2 vols. | |
| 1830 | Tyler, William S. | Correspondence | |
| 1830 | Merrick, James L. | 1827-1856 | Diaries (5 vols.) |
| 1835 | Dwight, John | Diary (through 1852) | |
| 1837 | Bliss, Edwin E. | Diaries | |
| Diaries, 2 vols. | |||
| Diaries of Isabella Holmes Porter (Bliss), 2 vols | |||
| 1839 | Bacon, George | Bill from A.C. | |
| 1839 | Mill, Thomas A. | Diary | |
| 1839 | Miller, Thomas A. | Diary | |
| 1839 | Stone, William | Bill from A.C. | |
| 1839 | Wing, A. | Diary | |
| 1840 | Batchelder, James L. | Journal | |
| 1841 | Brooks, Sidney | Ledger; Correspondence | |
| 1841 | Parker, S. J. | Historical facts and remarks made by request for Alumni Record of Amherst College | |
| 1844 | (Non-Grad) Hubbard, William | Expelled from Amherst for card playing and chicken stealing (for more on chicken stealing see Amherst Sketches, 1897) | |
| 1845 | Lee, John S. | Autobiography of John Stebbins Lee; Correspondence (dealing particularly with the poor condition of the college in the 1840s) | |
| 1849 | Hammond, William G. 1844-1848 | Journal (2 vols.) | |
| 1849 | Hitchcock, Edward | List of the second generation of Amherst College students ending with the year 1878 - 79 | |
| 1849 | Lobdell, Henry | Diary; Correspondence (indexed) | |
| 1849 | Locke, Calvin | Correspondence (describing professors and classes especially) | |
| 1849 | Peck, Henry | Correspondence | |
| 1849 | Root, Martin | 1847- 1851 | Diary |
| 1851 | Class of 1851 | 1848-1849 | Resolution of Sophomore Class disagreeing with proposal of senior class for a policing policy by undergraduate body. See papers of President E. Hitchcock. |
| 1851 | Overton, Floyd | 1850 | Notes on Zoology and Geology lectures given by Prof. Charles Baker Adams and Pres. Edward Hitchcock |
| 1851 | Stewart, Robert | Poem: "Fellowship" | |
| 1852 | Class of 1852 | Establishment of the "Philopogonia Society" -- an agreement to ban shaving for one term among the class of 1852 | |
| 1852 | Bliss, Daniel | College expenses | |
| 1852 | Fish, Elija S. | Ledger | |
| 1852 | Harrington, Brainerd T. | Correspondence with his brother | |
| 1852 | Porter, Charles L. | Poem: "The Dream" | |
| 1852 | Sabin, Henry | Poem: "A Legend of the Mohawk" | |
| 1854 | Hallock, Charles | Record of an Errant Life. Memoirs of Charles Hallock | |
| 1854 | Olcott, Edward B. | Letter | |
| 1854 | Underhill, John Winn | Correspondence | |
| 1855 | Caldwell, John C. | Correspondence | |
| 1855 | Washburn, George | Personal Recollections (tss). See also: file of his son, George Washburn (AC 1882), for correspondence between the two | |
| 1856 | Hand, Edwin C. | 1832 - 1865 | Civil War Papers |
| 1857 | Carr, William O. | 1853-1857 | Correspondence "The Amherst Diary of W.O.C. 1853 - 1857" (tss), includes account of the undergrad "revival" of 1855 |
| 1857 | Frisbie, Alvah | Class Poem: "The Scholar's Mission" | |
| 1857 | Grassie, Thomas | Essay: "Leanness vs. Fatness"; Essay: "Statement of Facts," addressed to the class of 1861 encouraging them to join the Alexandrian Society | |
| 1858 | Delano, Henry G. | Correspondence | |
| 1858 | Thomas, Henry G. | Correspondence | |
| 1858 | Ellsworth, Alfred A. | 1853-1856 | Diary |
| 1859 | Constantine, George | 1857-1860 | Journal, 3 vols. |
| 1859 | Clafin, James F. | Poem: "Our New England Home" | |
| 1859 | Dana, Malcolm | 1858 Jun 21 | Treasurer's Report to the Athenian Society, apologizing for zeal as treasurer which was interpreted as malice. |
| 1859 | Hawkes, Joshua G. | Essay about Hawkes: "A Massachusetts Soldier at the Siege of Port Hudson, 1863"; Essay: "Picket Duty"(accounts of his life in the army) | |
| 1860 | Boardman, Moses B. | Poem: "Ramble to Holyoke" | |
| 1860 | Cannon, Horace | Correspondence | |
| 1860 | Fullerton, Bradford | Correspondence | |
| 1860 | Holmes, Henry Martyn | Clips from college life | |
| 1860 | Little, Joseph B. | Correspondence | |
| 1860 | Ward, James W. | Poem: "Garibaldi" | |
| 1861 | Andrews, Edwin N. | Poem: "Pugnae Caninae"; poem about dogfighting, an apparently popular pastime in Amherst, written for the Express | |
| 1861 | Apthrop, John P. | Correspondence | |
| 1861 | Dyer, Ebenezer Porter 1852-1870 | Journal (1852-1857); "Life on a Plantation. A Diary" (1862 - 1870); Plantation Book, census and manuscript stories (1862) | |
| 1861 | Fullerton, Bradford | Correspondence; Poems: "Avarice and Covetousness," "Life," "The Dead" | |
| 1861 | Harmon, Elija | 1857, n.d. | Correspondence; Rhyme book (Feb. 1857) |
| 1861 | Herrick, Samuel E. | Correspondence and memorabilia | |
| 1861 | Leach, Joseph A. | Civil War Correspondence | |
| 1861 | Sanford, Elliot | Correspondence | |
| 1862 | Knight, Alva A. | Correspondence describing Civil War experiences | |
| 1863 | Bond, Thomas S. | Essay: "Life in a Country Minister's Family" | |
| 1863 | Pennell, Christopher | Collection of personal reminiscences and correspondence from Civil War and college | |
| 1863 | Stearns, Frazar | Civil War Correspondence | |
| 1863 | Wells, George Huntington | Correspondence | |
| 1864 | Guilford, Jones | 1864 | Journal |
| 1864 | Whitcomb, George H. | 1860-1871 | College expenses (1860-1871); Correspondence as a trustee |
| 1865 | Bolton, Charles E. | 1866 | Autobiography |
| 1865 | Roe, Charles | Diary (tss) | |
| 1865 | Twichell, Erastus W. | Journal of Expenses | |
| 1867 | Burgess, John | Autobiographical Reminiscences (tss); "How I Found Amherst and What I Found" (tss, printed in Amherst Graduates Quarterly, No. 65, Vol. XVII, Nov. 1927) | |
| 1867 | Cobb, William Henry | Reminiscences of Amherst College | |
| 1867 | Tilden, Arthur | Autograph Book; Account Book | |
| 1868 | Sophomore Class Uprising | Account of the rituals of undergraduate life and conflict between the students and faculty | |
| 1867 | Miner, Worthington | Diary | |
| 1869 | Hewett, Waterman T. | 1865-1866 | Diaries (2 vols.) |
| 1870 | Class of 1870 | 1866-1880 | Cash Book for class of 1870 (entries made for 1866, '67, '69, '70, '73, '75, '80) |
| 1870 | Class of 1870 | 1868 | History of the Class of 1870 for the Sophomore Year (published by Henry A. Davenport) |
| 1871 | Class of 1871 | 1867 | Records of the Class of 1871 |
| 1871 | Morong, Arthur B. | 1870 | Diary |
| 1873 | King, Henry Amasa | Notebook of expenses and addresses | |
| 1876 | Class of 1876 | Student and Olio Controversies in which members of Olio and Student were censured for satirizing the faculty | |
| 1872 | Cary, Otis | Notes on Amherst College in 1868-1872 | |
| 1878 | Class of 1878 | Description of class | |
| 1879 | Jameson, John F. | Recollections of Amherst College | |
| 1879 | Marvine, Walter | Correspondence | |
| 1880 | Alden, Edmund | Essay: "Amherst Reminiscences" | |
| 1880 | Chapin, Samuel | Records of his college Expenses and Financial Aid | |
| 1880 | McGregory, J.F. | 1876-1880 | Account book of college expenses (Sept. 1876 - July 1880); Speech Notes before class meeting filled with puns on class members' names |
| 1880 | Stephenson, Robert S. 1858-1929 | Diaries | |
| 1881 | Kemp, James F. | Diaries; Essays and stories | |
| 1881 | Murphy, Star Jocelyn | Receipts from college | |
| 1881 | Russell, Henry B. | 1879 | Journal |
| 1881 | Spahr, Charles Barzalli | Notebook, expenses | |
| 1882 | Burt, Enoch H. | Account Book | |
| 1882 | Washburn, George H. | Correspondence | |
| 1883 | Class of 1883 | Unidentified student diary | |
| 1883 | Foster, George B. | Correspondence; Notebook of accounts, lists, etc. | |
| 1883 | Pratt, Charles | Journal | |
| 1883 | Roe, Charles | Diary (tss) | |
| 1884 | Class of 1884 | 1890 | Amherst Memories. A Collection of Undergraduate Verse |
| 1887 | Sharp, Frank C. Diary | ca. 1884 | Diary |
| 1889 | Bigelow, William | Musings of an Emeritus; Amherst High School Essay: "The Character of Bassinio" |