The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Henry H. Belfield and Belfield Family Papers 1849-1967
© 2006 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Belfield, Henry H. and Belfield Family. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1849-1967 |
| Size: | 1.25 linear feet (3 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | The Henry H. Belfield and Belfield Family Papers consists of letterbooks, personal correspondence, and other papers of Henry H. Belfield, 1849-1913, and correspondence and papers of Belfield's parents and other relatives, 1844-1967. The Henry H. Belfield and Belfield Family Papers Addenda consists of Henry H. Belfield's 1904 diary as well as newspaper clippings and inserts found in the diary. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Belfield, Henry H. and Belfield Family. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Henry Holmes Belfield, educator, was born November 17, 1837, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family moved west in 1846, living in Iowa and Missouri. Belfield received an A.B. degree from Iowa College in 1858, A.M. degrees from Griswold College in 1861 and Iowa College in 1868, and a Ph.D. from Iowa College in 1878. Before moving to Chicago in 1866, he served as Principal and Superintendent of Public Schools in Dubuque, Iowa, and as an assistant adjutant general in the 8th Iowa Cavalry.
In Chicago, Belfield worked as Principal of Jones School, 1866-1868, Dore School, 1868-1876, and North Division High School, 1876-1883. In 1883 he was appointed as the first Director of the newly-formed Chicago Manual Training School. He and his family moved to Hyde Park the following year.
The Chicago Manual Training School was created by the Commercial Club of Chicago, its trustees included E. W. Blatchford, R. T. Crane, W. A. Fuller, Marshall Field, John Crerar, John W. Doane, W. K. Fairbank, Edson Keith, and George M. Pullman. It was conceived not as a trade school but as a high school that combined training in carpentry, drawing, and machine shopwork with mathematics, science, and language in a program of general education. The first of its kind in Chicago, it served as a model for the R. T. Crane Manual Training School and Armour Institute, as well as similar schools in other cities.
In 1897 the Commercial Club offered the school as a gift to the University of Chicago, and in 1903 it was merged with the South Side Academy to form the University High School. Belfield's title was changed to Dean of the Technological Course of the University High School, since the Manual Training School was technically dissolved. He served in that position until his retirement in 1908. Although he had recommended the acquisition of the school by the University, he felt that it was unfortunate that much of the school's identity and character were lost through the administrative changes. Belfield died June 5, 1912.
The Henry H. Belfield and Belfield Family papers consists of letterbooks, personal correspondence, and other papers of Henry H. Belfield, 1849-1913, and correspondence and papers of Belfield's parents and other relatives, 1844-1967. The papers are divided into three series.
Presidents' Papers, 1889-1925
Chicago Manual Training School. Records
Series I: Henry H. Belfield |
The first series in the collection contains correspondence and papers of Henry H. Belfield. These include four letterbooks with copies of letters pertaining to his work at the Chicago Manual Training School, 1883-1901; personal correspondence, arranged chronologically, 1849-1909; autobiographical writings; and other papers concerning Belfield's career in education, his service in the army during the Civil War, and his family life.
| Box 1 Folder 1-4 | Letterbooks, 1883-1901 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Correspondence, 1849-1850 |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Correspondence, Iowa College, 1857-1858 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Correspondence, Civil War, 1863-1865 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Correspondence, 1867-1888 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Correspondence, trip to Europe, 1891-1892 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Correspondence, 1898-1913 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | "My Sixty Days in Hades," in Military Essays and Recollections, vol. III, pp. 447-464, 1899 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Chicago Manual Training School board minutes, history, 1883-1903 |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Autobiographical writings, 1891-1903 |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | News clippings, 1896-1912 |
Series II: Belfield Family Papers |
This series includes correspondence, papers, and memorabilia of relatives of Henry H. Belfield. Many of the letters were written to his father, William Belfield, by other members of the family; they are filed by the name of the correspondent. Subjects include news of family members and neighbors, and business and property matters. Of particular note are letters from Thomas Belfield while he was mining in California and Nevada in 1850-1851 (2:13).
Materials in the "genealogical information and correspondence" folder (2:22) will aid in identifying individuals named in this series.
| Box 2 Folder 11 | Appleton, William M., Ann Belfield, and Sarah B., 1851-1857 |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | Belfield, Thomas and Ann Marshall, 1844-1851 |
| Box 2 Folder 13 | Belfield, William and Selener Marshall, 1844-1862 |
| Box 2 Folder 14 | Belfield, William T., 1897-1937 |
| Box 2 Folder 15 | Levy, William P. and Sarah Marshall, 1848-1858 |
| Box 2 Folder 16 | Marshall, Ann, 1845-1847 |
| Box 2 Folder 17 | Marshall, Samuel R., 1846-1881 |
| Box 2 Folder 18 | Tussey, Isaac S., 1850-1851 |
| Box 2 Folder 19 | Miscellaneous family members, 1844-1894 |
| Box 2 Folder 20 | Miscellaneous family members, 1915-1951 |
| Box 2 Folder 21 | Genealogical information and correspondence, 1904-1967 |
| Box 2 Folder 22 | Memorabilia
|
| Box 2 Folder 23 | The Beautiful Temple by Jane Elizabeth Holmes, inscribed "Emma Belfield, Dec. 25th 1843" |
Series III: Addenda |
The Henry H. Belfield and Belfield Family Papers Addenda consists of Henry H. Belfield's 1904 diary as well as newspaper clippings and inserts found in the diary.
| Box 3 Folder 1 | Belfield, Henry H., diary, 1904. |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Rowley, James Francis, Jr., newspaper clippings, inserts from Belfield's 1904 diary, 1904 |