Manuscripts

Dame Ellen Terry papers

Description: The papers consist of correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and ephemera. The largest group of letters were written by Ellen Terry to Clement Scott, drama critic; the remainder of the items consist of letters and manuscripts written by various people and, for the most part, deal with Terry's life on the stage, her celebrated roles, and her fellow actors and actresses. One letter of interest was written by Terry and discusses her thoughts, motivations, and fears upon acting Lady Macbeth for the first time. The collection also includes three undated photographs of Ellen Terry.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1886-1931
Call number: mssHM 60355-60392
Creator: Terry, Ellen (1847-1928)(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Purchased from Sotheby's, December 1969.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Rights: The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Associated people: Blanchard, E. L. (1820-1889.); Scott, Clement, (1841-1904.); Tawse, George.
Find out more: View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab); View in the Online Archive of California(Opens in new tab)

Dame Ellen Terry papers

Manuscripts

The papers consist of correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and ephemera. The largest group of letters were written by Ellen Terry to Clement Scott, drama critic; the remainder of the items consist of letters and manuscripts written by various people and, for the most part, deal with Terry's life on the stage, her celebrated roles, and her fellow actors and actresses. One letter of interest was written by Terry and discusses her thoughts, motivations, and fears upon acting Lady Macbeth for the first time. The collection also includes three undated photographs of Ellen Terry.

mssHM 60355-60392

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Dame Ellen Terry Letter to "Dearest Politana,"

Manuscripts

In this letter, Terry comments on a gift and asks Politana to dine with her, "Miss Sarah," and several other people that next night. The letter is undated and written on "Lyceum Theatre" letterhead.

mssHM 79015

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David Smith Terry papers

Manuscripts

The collection consists of letters and documents related to David Smith Terry's family life and judicial and political career. There are also materials related to the Terry-Broderick duel, Texas frontier life and political events before and during the Civil War, as seen chiefly in the personal correspondence between Terry, his wife and family.

mssTE

Autobiography and diary of Thomas Sirls Terry [microform]: 1856-1859

Manuscripts

Microfilm of two volumes by Thomas S. Terry, one containing an autobiography of his life to 1856 and one containing a journal kept from 1857-1859. The autobiography describes of Terry's teenage years spent working in cotton and calico mills, his conversion to Mormonism and decision to quit his printing job and leave home in 1845, of his odd jobs throughout the mid-Atlantic, and of finally joining the Mormons in Missouri in 1847. Terry also writes of his arrival in Salt Lake City, his marriage to Mary Ann Pulsipher in 1849 (he would later marry her sister Eliza Jane), of the family's move to Little Cottonwood, of trouble with Chief Walkara's tribe, and of his departure for a mission to the eastern states in 1856. The volume also contains family blessings from 1858 and 1875, as well as genealogy of both the Terry and Pulsipher families. The second volume is a diary Terry kept while leading a company of Mormons across the plains to Utah following his eastern states mission (it is identified as "Book Number 4" and covers June 1857-December 1859). Terry writes of the death of Parley P. Pratt, of his company's progression across the plains, of meeting Jesse B. Martin's company, of moving the Springville upon his return to Utah, and of the family's move back to Cottonwood in July 1858. The rest of the diary describes Terry's daily life in Utah.

MSS MFilm 00095 item 03

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Diary of Thomas S. Terry [microform] : 1857-1860

Manuscripts

Microfilm of a typescript of Thomas S. Terry's diary, kept from 1857-1860 while he was leading a company of Mormons across the plains to Utah following his eastern states mission (it is identified as "Book 4." Terry writes of the death of Parley P. Pratt, of his company's progression across the plains, of meeting Jesse B. Martin's company, of moving the Springville upon his return to Utah, and of the family's move back to Cottonwood in July 1858. The rest of the diary describes Terry's daily life in Utah.

MSS MFilm 00162

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Ellen Steele Sturges Papers

Manuscripts

This collection contains 40 items (17 manuscripts, 4 letters, and 19 pieces of ephemera) by or related to Ellen Steele Sturges (1837-1930) of Michigan, Montana, and San Bernardino, California, and her family. Items chiefly consist of manuscripts of short stories written by Sturges, as well as two hymns. There is also a short 1-page autobiography by her father, Ebenezer Steele, and a small collection of genealogical and biographical notes detailing Ellen Steele Sturges's family and David Brainerd Sturges's life. One letter in the collection is a rejection notice from S.S. McClure Limited and includes an edited copy of "The Little Somnambulist." An 1852 letter contains a report by Ebenezer Steele regarding his missionary work in 1852 with an Ojibwa tribe in Michigan at "Na-yuh-mah-kauny" (or Naomikong). There is also a short note from Ellen's stepmother, Phebe Steele, recounting Ebenezer Steele's recollections of "Training Day" in Massachusetts. The ephemera includes Ellen Steele Sturges's nursing certificate, a Montana homestead certificate from 1877 to David Sturges, and a Confederate States bond issued by the Central Business College of Sedalia, Missouri, from 1864. There is also an obituary for Ellen Steele Sturges, a photograph of David Brainerd Sturges, two photographic postcards of their house in San Bernardino, California, and a view of buildings in Virginia City, Montana, by photographer O.C. Bundy, circa 1875.

mssSturges

Dame Ellen Terry papers

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