Collection inventory

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Arabella Huntington Papers

An inventory of her papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: -
Date: Jan 1967

Biographical History

Arabella Duval Huntington was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1851. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. R.M. Yarrington, raised Arabella in Virginia where she remained until her marriage at the age of eighteen. She married a Mr. Worsham of New York City in 1869 and returned there with him. However, he died a year later, leaving Arabella with an infant son, Archer Milton.* The next fourteen years were spent raising her son and educating him herself. In 1884, she married Collis P. Huntington, railroad builder and financier. Mr. Huntington legally adopted Archer. They lived a very happy life together until his death in 1900.

For the next ten years, Mrs. Huntington tried to carry on her husband's interests, visiting his shipyards and supporting charities in his name. In 1913, she remarried once more. Mutual interests in art attracted her to Collis P. Huntington's nephew, Henry E. Huntington, and after their marriage they traveled extensively in Europe, gathering the materials for what was to be the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery in California. She divided her time between New York and her husband's home in California. She remained active in numerous charities and good works until her death in 1924.

*This history has been questioned. A. Hyatt Mayor, Arabella's nephew, has suggested that Archer Milton was in fact the illegitimate son of Collis Huntington. [RR]

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The papers of Arabella Huntington contain correspondence, subject files, bills and receipts, and manuscripts.

Correspondence includes incoming and outgoing correspondence, and correspondence to and from others. The incoming correspondence is arranged alphabetically by author. The outgoing correspondence if filed chronologically. (Dates: 1892, 1901-1902, 1905-1919, 1922-1923.)

Subject files contains accounts, blueprints, inventories, legal papers, material pertaining to the Roadside Mine, and related items. These materials are arranged alphabetically by type or subject. (Dates: 1891, 1897, 1909, 1912, 1920, 1923-1925.)

Bills and receipts consists of bills or receipts sent to Mrs. Huntington by various firms, merchants, charities, etc. These are arranged alphabetically by name of the firm or individual. (Dates: 1888-1889, 1902-1925)

Manuscripts includes three articles by others, all typescript. These are undated.

Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is divided into incoming and outgoing; within this it is arranged alphabetically. The other three series are arranged alphabetically by subject, name, and title respectively.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

See also the following:

Anna Hyatt Huntington Papers
Archer Milton Huntington Papers
Collis P. Huntington Papers
Huntington Estate Records

Subject Headings

Persons

Duveen, Joseph Duveen, Baron, 1869-1939.
Huntington, Arabella Duval, 1850 or 51-1924.
Seligmann, Jacques, 1858-1923.

Corporate Bodies

Tiffany and Company.

Subjects

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States.
Art -- Private collections.
Art dealers.
Women philanthropists -- United States.

Places

Upper class -- United States

Genres and Forms

Bills of sale.
Correspondence.
Inventories.
Receipts (financial records)

Occupations

Collectors.
Philanthropists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Arabella Huntington Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Table of Contents

Biographical material

Correspondence

Subject file

Bills and receipts

Manuscripts

Inventory