Lester Frank Ward was born in 1841 as the youngest of a poor Illinois farmer's ten children. From these humble beginnings he rose to international prominence as a scientist and scholar.
Ward received little formal education until after the Civil War, when he entered government service in Washington, D.C. Subsequently he attended Columbian College, earning a B.A. degree in 1869, an LL.B. in 1871, and an M.A. in botany in 1871.
He joined the Department of the Interior's U. S. Geological Survey team in 1881 as an assistant geologist in charge of paleobotany. When he left government employment twenty-five years later, he had advanced to the rank of chief paleontologist and, concurrently, had commenced the career as a teacher and writer which in 1906 brought him to Brown University as a professor of sociology. He died in 1913.
His chief publications include
According to the Brown University Librarian's report dated October 1915, processing of the Lester Frank Ward papers began in August of that year. Since then several attempts were made to arrange and describe the collection, which at the present is organized into twelve series. In preparation for the microfilming of selected portions of the collection, the existing arrangement has been preserved, despite several anomalies.
Series 1 contains Ward's correspondence, ca. 1863-1913. Most of the letters were written to Ward and concern professional matters; some are personal letters and some are drafts or retained copies of letters written by Ward himself. Included in this series, also, is Ward's own hand written card index to scrapbooks containing much of his correspondence and published writings.
Series 2, containing Ward's published and unpublished writings composed between 1860 and 1913, includes various notebooks, a diary, a manuscript autobiography, a bibliography, proofs, manuscript and typescript articles and book reviews, and published editions of his own works.
Series 3 comprises the scrapbooks, now disbound, into which Ward pasted reviews and press notices referring to his writings. The clippings in these volumes date from 1833 to 1911.
Series 4 and Series 5 are made up of various indexes and lists of authors, book titles, names, and subjects compiled by Ward during his lifetime primarily as personal reference tools. While these seldom contain more than a citation to a source or a few words of identification, they do reveal something of the nature of his readings and principal research interests.
Series 6 through Series 9 include a rather miscellaneous group of items collected, received, or used by Ward: Newspaper and magazine clippings (Series 6); invitations, announcements, and calling cards (Series 7 and Series 8), and, in Series 9, a box of Ward's bank books, cancelled checks, and check stubs.
Series 10 consists of a small group of slides, prints, and photographs.
Series 11 contains a metal box of objects designated "Memorabilia".
See also Ward's personal library of about seven hundred books and an equivalent number of pamphlets. Ward appears to have relied heavily on the contents of his own library for research material. Consequently the contents of his library, as well as the marginal notes and annotations that he added to many volumes, are of use for the study of his intellectual development and interests.
All the materials in the Lester Frank Ward papers are in the public domain and available for use without restriction.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Lester Frank Ward papers, Ms. 90.23, Brown University Library.
The collection consists of 11 series.
The Lester Frank Ward papers were presented to Brown University in 1913 as a gift of Ward's heirs, Edward A. Ross and Sarah E. Simons. A formal deed of gift was not executed at the time of the collection's transfer, and subsequent efforts on the part of the University to acquire the literary rights to Ward's papers were not successful.
The content of Series 1, the bulk of Series 2, and other portions of the collection outlined in the Series description which follows, are available on microfilm (Reels 2-34). The series and subseries that have not been microfilmed include Series 2--Subseries B (Writings, Published Writings [codices 1-25], and Index Register [shoeboxes 104-111]); Series 4--Special Index to Index Rerum [shoeboxes 114-115]; and Series 6 through Series 11. The reel contents lists in their entirety constitute Part Three of this inventory; the separate contents lists in their entirety constitute Part Three of this inventory; separate lists for each reel have also been filmed at the beginning for their respective reels. These lists, keyed to the frame numbers in each reel, should be used in conjunction with the more detailed descriptions for selected series in Part Two of this inventory.
One of Ward's most important research tools was his personal library of about 1,400 volumes, consisting primarily of works relating to the physical and social sciences. Also included, however, are works of poetry, philosophy, art, history, and travel. Among the authors represented by these books and pamphlets are Locke, Comte, Hume, Haeckel, Darwin, William James, T.H. Huxley, Asa Gray, Victor Hugo, and Walt Whitman. In addition, various secondary sources referring to Ward have been added to his personal library.
Most of the printed material in Ward's personal library has been grouped by subject and arranged according to a system of Cutter numbers. Some volumes, however, have been catalogued and shelved according to Library of Congress classification. A reasonably complete list of these books is provided in Addendum I of the Inventory. In addition, author, title, and subject entries should be found in the cataloging records of books at Brown University Library. Lester Frank Ward's personal library, comprising about 1,400 books is located in the John Hay Library. This material has not been microfilmed.
Brown University Library catalog record for this collection:
This series consists of two indexes (Subseries A and B)and three groups of actual correspondence (Subseries C, D, and E). The correspondence, amounting to about fifty-eight hundred letters is arranged in three groups according to Ward's own scheme.
This series has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reels 2-14.
A handwritten card index, in three boxes, prepared by Ward as a key to much of his correspondence as well as to the publications and reviews/press notices which are part of Series 2 and Series 3. Alphabetically arranged according to personal names, subjects, and titles, this index seems quite complete and can be used to supplement other forms of access to the "Biography" (Series 1, Subseries C) and "Autograph" (Series 1, Subseries E) groups of correspondence.
This series has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reel 2.
Related to Series 1, Subseries A but less comprehensive, Subseries B lists the names of people with whom Ward exchanged letters during those years.
This series has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reel 2.
The first of the correspondence groups consists of seven volumes (now disbound) of letters, notes, and postcards; notices of conferences attended and honors received; programs; membership cards, and related items which, as Ward intended, present a documentary biographical record of his life. Researchers should refer to the following list and also make use of Wards' own handwritten card index in Series 1, Subseries A. The content lists for the corresponding microfilm reels are keyed, not only to the boxes and folders in which the material is presently stored, but also to the volume and page numbers of the disbound scrapbooks.
This series has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reels 2-5.
Letters from a large number of individuals and organizations; also includes some of Ward's outgoing letters. Ward apparently considered these materials to be less important as reflections of his career than those he placed in the "Biography" volumes (Series 1, Subseries C) or the "Autograph" volumes (Series 1, Subseries E); nevertheless, they do include letters from William James, Theodore Dreiser, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Thorstein Veblen, Asa Gray, and other noted contemporaries. The materials are arranged alphabetically by correspondent's name within given date spans and filed in twenty-one boxes.
This series has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reels 6-11.
With enclosures.
2 copies.
Copy.
Copy.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
See also Cosmos Club.
With enclosure.
With 2 enclosures.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
See also American Gardening
See also American Gardening
See also American Anthropologist Washington Academy
See also American Anthropologist Washington Academy.
See also American Anthropologist Washington Academy.
With typed reprint of letter.
See also Joint Commission.
With enclosure.
See the Home Congress Cotillion Hall.
See also John M. Coulter.
With enclosure.
With 2 enclosures.
See also The Homeopathic Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pedology.
See also The Homeopathic Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pedology.
See also The Homeopathic Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pedology.
See National University Committee of One Hundred.
See also Pasteur Monument Club.
See also Pasteur Monument Club.
See also Pasteur Monument Club.
See also Botanical Gazette.
See also Botanical Gazette.
See also Botanical Gazette.
See also Botanical Gazette.
See also Botanical Gazette.
See also Philosophical Society of Washington.
See also Philosophical Society of Washington.
See also Philosophical Society of Washington.
See also Philosophical Society of Washington.
With 2 enclosures.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
See L.S. Metcalf.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
See also Childhood.
See also National University Committee of One Hundred.
With enclosed plant specimen.
See also American Academy of Political & Social Science.
With evelope.
See also The Forum.
See also The Forum.
See also The Forum.
See also The Forum.
See also The Forum.
See also Hoyt, John W.
With enclosure.
See also Hoyt, John W.
See also Tolman, William Howe.
Includes miscellaneous printed material. See also Tolman, William Howe.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
Two letters.
Three letters.
Two letters.
See also Cosmos Club.
With enclosure.
See also Diller, J.S.
See also Diller, J.S.
With enclosure.
See Youmans, W.J.
With enclosure.
See Youmans, W.J.
With enclosure.
With enclosures.
With Enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure by Ward.
Recommendation of Ann Schmidt.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman is filed under Charlotte Perkins Stetson.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman is filed under Charlotte Perkins Stetson.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman is filed under Charlotte Perkins Stetson.
See also New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor.
See also New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor.
See also Fred C. Coville.
With enclosure.
With envelope.
With envelope.
Copy.
Copy.
Copy.
Copy.
See also Childhood Homeopathatic Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Pedology.
See also Childhood Homeopathic Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Pedology.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With enclosure.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With enclosure.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
See also Open Court.
See also Open Court.
With enclosure.
See also Thomas J. McCormack.
See also Thomas J. McCormack.
See also Thomas J. McCormack.
See also Thomas J. McCormack.
See also Thomas J. McCormack.
See also Thomas J. McCormack.
See also Thomas J. McCormack.
With enclosure.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With enclosure.
With enclosures.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclsoure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
2 copies.
With enclosure.
2 copies.
With enclosure.
With response.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
Missing -- not found.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosures.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
Not found.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
This item is an enclosure to letter to Gould.
With enclosure.
Original finding aid indicates this may be missing.
Original finding aid indicates this is missing.
Original finding aid indicates this is missing.
With enclosure.
Letter is undated except for the word "Friday".
With enclosure.
Undated except for note, "Friday morning".
With enclosure.
Undated except for phrase "Labor Day".
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
Only address noted is 4426 Westminster Pl.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
Copy.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
Missing.
With enclosure.
Signed Fred H. Bracht.
By Wm. B. Feakius. With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
By Gertrude S. Kimball.
By Gertrude S. Kimball.
By Gertrude S. Kimball.
By Gertrude S. Kimball.
By Gertrude S. Kimball.
By Gertrude S. Kimball.
By Gertrude S. Kimball.
By Gertrude S. Kimball.
With enclosure.
With envelope. With enclosure.
By Charles Kelsey.
By George Grant MacCurdy.
By. F. D. Millel.
By A.A. Tenney.
By C. Stuart Gager.
By F. Guild.
By Benjamin E. Smith.
By Benjamin E. Smith.
With envelope.
With enclosure.
With envelope.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With 2 enclosures.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With 2 enclosures.
With envelope.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
by Katherine N. Woods.
By J.M.K. Cattell.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With envelope.
With envelope.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
Missing?
Missing?
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
With enclosure.
Copy.
The third and probably most significant selection of correspondence in Series 1 consists of those letters which Ward filed into nine volumes (now disbound), labeled "Autographs". Whether because of the identity of the writers, the intrinsic content of the letters, or their relevance to his career, Ward apparently considered these letters to be of particular importance.
An
This series has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reels 12-14.
Portions of this series have been microfilmed and are available on Microfilm Reels 15-31.
Includes Ward's private, unpublished writings (notably his diary) and also articles, essays, lectures, sermons, notes and book reviews; some of the book reviews, however, were published.
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reels 15-26.
Although Ward kept diaries throughout most of his lifetime, only this volume, covering the period 1860-1869, escaped destruction at the hands of relatives following his death in 1913. The diary is written in French. (An English version, edited by Bernhard J. Stern and published in 1935, is available in Ward's personal library, which is part of this collection.)
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reel 15.
These materials consist mainly of manuscript and typed drafts of lectures, speeches, essays, and book reviews. Spanning Ward's entire career, these pieces reflect his interest in a wide range of topics: botany, political science, religion, education, economics, race relations, the social status of women, geology, philosophy, astronomy, and simplified spelling.
The first twenty boxes contain the essays, lectures, and speeches, arranged by title and partially accessible through the catalog cards reproduced as Part Two, Section E of this inventory (and also the microfilm reel content lists, the entries in which are more inclusive but less detailed). The remaining three boxes contain Ward's book reviews, organized by the title of the work reviewed. (Researchers should note that some of the essays in this category were, in fact, published at some point, and additional copies of these titles may be found in Series 2, Subseries B of the collection.
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reels 16-24.
Includes one box of genuinely miscellaneous materials which, in addition to documents relating to Ward's first wife (Lizzie C. Vought) and a number of articles by other writers, also contains various items such as a "List of Books Belonging to the first Washington Book Club, Received and delivered by L.F. Ward, Bureau of Statistics, ca. 1875-1878"; extracts from a sermon in his hand (1895), and a Syllabus of a Course of Ten Lectures on 'The History and Principles of sociology' which he delivered at Columbian College in 1897.
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reel 24.
Ward wrote his Autobiography with his second wife's assistance but never published it.
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reel 24.
Ward compiled the Bibliography as a guide to his writings printed between 1875 and 1911.
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reel 24.
Dating presumably from Ward's years as a professor of sociology at Brown University.
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reel 25.
Written by Ward and his first wife before her death in 1872.
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reel 25.
Seven volumes of botanical notebooks, catalogs, and day books kept by Ward on his travels through the western states as a member of the U. S. Geological Survey staff.
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reels 25-26.
Two small volumes which record the amount of time Ward devoted to writing entries for the
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reels 26.
Apparently compiled by Ward when studying Russian.
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reel 26.
Portions of this series have been microfilmed and are available on Microfilm Reels 26-31.
Appears to be a complete set of Ward's printed articles and reviews; these are arranged chronologically and are shelved in codices 1 through 25. As a means of gaining access to the titles and subjects of the bound writings, researchers should use the handwritten card index (Series 1, Subseries A).
The classified printed editions and proofs are arranged according to call-number. A listing of
The manuscripts and typescripts are arranged alphabetically by title, except that translations are filed with the English versions.
This subseries has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reels 26-31.
The seven volumes in this series represent the scrapbooks into which Ward filed newspaper and magazine articles which reviewed or otherwise mentioned his published works. Ward indexed these materials by the title of the work reviewed or mentioned, and, occasionally, by the author of the particular article or clipping. The items in Series 3 are accessible primarily through his handwritten card index (Series 1, Subseries A).
This series has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reel 32.
The numerous other indexes which Ward created during his lifetime comprise Series 4. Due to their specialized nature, two other Ward indexes have been filed elsewhere: the handwritten card index to his correspondence and other writings in Series 1, Subseries A, and an eight-box "Index Register" to
Portions of this series have been microfilmed and are available on Microfilm Reel 33.
A three-volume manuscript index to sources of ideas and information that Ward found of interest, drawn from his voluminous reading. The entries in these volumes are arranged in rough alphabetical order by subject and personal name and give the title and page numbers of the work in which the cited information can be found. Often, Ward's brief summary of the significance of that information is also given in the index. Due to the complex arrangement of the "Index Rerum", Ward developed two separate card indexes to make access to his main index somewhat easier, "Special Index to Index Rerum" and "Bibliography of Names".
This index has been microfilmed and is available on Microfilm Reel 33.
The Special Index lists the subjects and individuals mentioned in the three volumes of the "Index Rerum". Each entry for a topic or person is followed by a reference to the page or section of the main index on which the relevant citations can be found.
Ward's brief "Bibliography of Names" is a file of the personal names listed in volume one of the "Index Rerum" only and supplies the page or section number on which information about the individual referred to may be found.
Ward's notes taken while reading John F. McLennan's
Primarily to supplement his indexes, Ward also compiled a number of special lists. This series contains six such lists.
Portions of this series have been microfilmed and are available on Microfilm Reel 34.
Alphabetically arranged by subjects with a brief reference to the author and title of the work(s) containing information about each topic.
Paper slips alphabetically arranged by the surnames of the authors of works which Ward apparently consulted in his research. Most of the slips provide complete imprint information regarding each item and often contain a quote from, or note regarding, the work.
Microfilmed on Reel 34.
A collection of references to mainly nineteenth-century articles and monographs written in English, French, Spanish, or German and dealing with history, education, philosophy, evolution, and political science as well as sociology. Arranged alphabetically by author's surname, this list again seems to be of works consulted by Ward.
A collection of references that also appear to have been consulted by Ward.
Includes individuals to whom Ward either sent copies of his articles or exchanged information about simplified spelling.
A list of the contents of this series is in the attached PDF document
This series has not been microfilmed.
As a prominent writer, scientist, teacher, and scholar in late nineteenth to early twentieth-century America, Ward received a large quantity of invitations to, and announcements of, various social, education, and political events. Ward methodically maintained several files of such material, now alphabetically arranged by the name of the prospective host, hostess, or sponsoring body of an event.
This series has not been microfilmed.
Following the fashion of the era, visitors often left calling cards at Ward's residence, announcing their visit and sometimes recording the intended purpose for their call. Alphabetically arranged by the name of the caller.
This series has not been microfilmed.
In the same orderly fashion, Ward also retained the records of his ordinary financial transactions with banking and finance institutions in Washington, D.C. and Providence. These materials are grouped into two boxes, one containing check stubs from 1875 to 1910 and the other storing three bank books (1882-1901) and cancelled checks for the 1894-1910 period.
This series has not been microfilmed.
In addition to printed material, the Lester Frank Ward Papers also contains a small quantity of slides, prints, photographs, and miscellaneous objects.
This series has not been microfilmed.
Sixty-seven glass slides of geologic formations, possibly used by Ward in his teaching.
A portfolio of prints and photographs, featuring historical personages such as Voltaire and Locke as well as contemporaries Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Walt Whitman.
Photographs and prints related to Ward's personal life and professional activities.
Framed.
Tintype.
Bust. Full View.
Bust. Full View.
Bust. Right Side.
Bust. In locket.
Four prints of one photo. Bust.
Oval. Bust.
Bust.
Bust.
Postmortem. Bust.
View no. 1.
View no. 2.
View no. 3.
View no. 4.
View no. 6.
View no. 7.
View no. 8.
View no. 10.
View no. 11.
View no. 12.
View no. 13.
View no. 14.
View no. 15.
View no. 16.
View no. 19.
View no. 20.
View no. 22.
View no. 23.
View no. 24.
View no. 25.
View no. 26.
View no. 2.
View no. 1.
View no. 3.
View no. 2.
Unlabeled.
Unlabeled.
Unlabeled.
Unlabeled.
Unlabeled.
Included in the memorabilia box and, like the graphic material, listed in the manuscript card catalog as "Museum Objects", are an appointment calendar; a Christmas card with Biblical quotation; four desk clips; five coins in a small box; colored leads; a box of geological artifact; five pairs of glasses in cases; and empty glasses case; one letter opener; an inscribed luggage tag; one magnifying glass; a medal from the International Congress of Arts and Sciences; a medal from the Universal Exposition, 1904, in a case; a medal from University Fredericana, also in a case; a microscope; two paper weights; three pens; three pen parts; six pencils; a printed and framed quote from Ward; and one nondescript rock.
This series has not been microfilmed.
A listing of volumes in his
This series has not been microfilmed.