Guide to the John Hay papers, 1829-1916

John Hay Library
John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI, 02912
Tel: 401-863-3723
email:hay@brown.edu

Published in 2019

Collection Overview

Title:	John Hay papers
Date range:	1829-1916
Creator:	Hay, John, 1838-1905
Extent:	28 linear feet
Abstract:	The John Hay papers consists of Hay's correspondence with his family and with literary, diplomatic, and political contemporaries; diaries kept by Hay as Lincoln's White House aide and as Secretary of the Legations in Paris, Vienna, and Madrid, 1866-1870; manuscript poems; galley proofs; personal letterpress copy books; photographs of Hay, his family, and various political figures; political cartoons; sound recordings; and a small collection of objects. Subjects include: Civil War; Lincoln and his administration; Reconstruction; court life in Paris; the bi-metal monetary standard; the Canadian boundary settlement; the fur seal question; Japanese naval activity; Chinese-American relations; the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars; British and American politics.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library
Collection number:	Ms.Hay

Scope & content

The John Hay papers consists of items covering the period 1829 to 1916 that include correspondence with his family and with literary, diplomatic, and political contemporaries; diaries kept by Hay as Secretary of the Legations in Paris, Vienna, and Madrid, 1866-1870; manuscript poems; corrected galley proofs for Abraham Lincoln, a history (1860) by John G. Nicolay and John Hay; and the compositor's copy of the autograph manuscript believed to be in Hay's writing disguised of chapters 1-17 (chapters 18-20 lacking) of The breadwinners. There are Hay's personal letterpress copy books reflecting his diplomatic service in Paris and Vienna (1865-1867), Madrid (1869-1870), and London (1897-1898). The latter were not available to the editor of Letters of John Hay and extracts from diary (Washington, 1908, 3 vols.). There is an album of 120 letters received by Hay after his eulogy of McKinley before the House of Representatives, 27 February 1902; and three albums containing 830 mounted letters and telegrams to the Hay family following the accidental death of Hay's elder son, Adelbert S. Hay, in 1901. There is a collection of photographs of Hay, his family, and various political figures, as well as a collection of political cartoons depicting Hay during his time in government. There are also small collections of artifacts, financial papers, and sound recordings.

Subjects include the Civil War, Lincoln and his administration, Reconstruction, court life in Paris, Hay's choice of careers, the bi-metal monetary standard, the Canadian boundary settlement, the fur seal question, Japanese naval activity, British politics, Cuba, the Spanish-American War, European attitudes toward the United States, the Queen's 1897 Jubilee, the copyright bill, literacy and family matters, and political affairs under Presidents Hayes, McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt.

Many items are available on microfilm, the location of which is noted in the finding aid. There is a separate finding aid for the microfilm version of the collection. Some items are only available via microfilm copy. For more information on microfilm, see the catalog record: BIB #b27346857, F5702 reels 1-23

Access Points

Subject Names

• Hay, John, 1838-1905
• Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
• Hayes, Rutherford B., 1822-1893
• McKinley, William, 1843-1901
• Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Geographical Names

• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
• United States -- History -- 1865-1898 -- Sources
• United States -- History -- 1901-1909 -- Sources
• United States -- History -- 19th century -- Sources

Document Types

• Correspondence
• Photographs
• Photograph albums
• Scrapbooks
• Visiting Cards

Subject Topics

• Government, Politics and Law
• Rhode Island/Local Interest
• Language and Literature

Arrangement

The John Hay papers has been arranged in 13 series:

Series 1. Writings and Diaries by John Hay

• Subseries A. Writings (some items available on microfilm)
• Subseries B. Diaries (available on microfilm)

Series 2. Correspondence written by John Hay

• Subseries A. Individual letters (some items available on microfilm)
• Subseries B. Letterpress books (available on microfilm)

Series 3. Correspondence written to John Hay (available on microfilm)

Series 4. Miscellaneous correspondence

• Subseries A. Correspondence neither to nor from Hay
• Subseries B. Albums (available on microfilm)

Series 5. Scrapbook of Congratulatory Letters upon the Memorial address for William McKinley (PS1902 .W55 H37) (available on microfilm)

• Subseries A. Original Scrapbook
• Subseries B. Memorial Service
• Subseries C. Correspondence

Series 6. Adelbert Stone Hay Memorial Scrapbook (PS1903 .Z9 H365) (available on microfilm)

• Subseries A. Original Scrapbooks
• Subseries B. Newspaper Clippings
• Subseries C. Correspondence
• Subseries D. Calling Cards

Series 7. Photographs and Images

• Subseries A. Photographs of John Hay arranged chronologically
• Subseries B. Painted/drawn portraits of John Hay arranged chronologically
• Subseries C. John Hay as Secretary of State
• Subseries D. Hay Family
• Subseries E. Home and Haunts
• Subseries F. Miscellaneous

Series 8. Official Documents

Series 9. Political Cartoons

Series 10. Museum Objects

Series 11. Sound recordings

Series 12. Related materials

Series 13. Hay family personal and financial documents (available on microfilm)

Biographical/Historical Note

John Milton Hay was born Oct. 8, 1838, in Salem, Indiana, and raised in Illinois, the third son of Dr. Charles Hay and his wife Helen (nee Leonard). In 1851 John went to an academy at Pittsfield in Pike County, where he met an older student, John G. Nicolay, who would play an important role in Hay's later career.

In 1852, John Hay attended Concordia College at Springfield, Illinois (later Illinois State University); but three years later he was sent to Brown, from which his maternal grandfather, David Augustus Leonard, had graduated as a member of the Class of 1792. At Brown, Hay was admitted to advanced standing and could have finished college in 1857, but finding himself behind in some areas, he wrote home that he preferred to pursue a more leisurely pace so as "to avail myself of the literary treasures of the libraries." While at Brown, Hay came under the influence of Sarah Helen Whitman and Nora Perry, and was received into their literary circle. Appointed Class Poet, he read a poem of his own composition entitled "Erato" at Class Day (June 10, 1858) of his senior year, captivating his audience.

Following his graduation from Brown that year with an M.A. degree, Hay found himself in Springfield, studying law in the office of his uncle Milton Hay. Fortuitously, Milton Hay's office was next door to the law office of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was persuaded by his secretary, John Nicolay, to hire Hay as an assistant private secretary, and Hay thus became a member of the White House household. Early in 1864, Hay was named Assistant Adjutant-general in the Army and detailed to the White House with the successive ranks of major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel.

In March 1865, Hay was appointed by Lincoln as secretary to the American legation in Paris, where he remained until 1867. In 1867, he moved on to Vienna as Chargé d'Affaires, and in 1869 he became Secretary of Legation in Madrid. Returning to the United States in 1870, he went to work for Whitelaw Reid as editorial writer and night editor for the New York Tribune. During the next 5 years, Hay's popularity as a literary figure and public speaker rose. Two of his best known poems, "Little breeches" (1870) and "Jim Bludso" (1871), were well-received features in the Tribune. In 1871 Hay published two popular book-length works, Pike County ballads and other pieces and Castilian days. His editorials on political affairs, both domestic and foreign, were widely read.

Hay's marriage in 1874 to Clara L. Stone, daughter of wealthy Amasa Stone of Cleveland, would assure him financial independence and changed his life. He resigned from the Tribune and moved to Cleveland to conduct the financial affairs of his father-in-law, and found himself free to resume writing. He and John Nicolay began their monumental ten volume work, Abraham Lincoln: a History which was finally published in 1890. He also authored the novel The Breadwinners (1884) which attacked the rising trade union movement. In 1878, however, he moved back to Washington to join the State Department as Assistant Secretary of State during the Hayes administration. There, he and Henry Adams occupied adjoining town houses designed by H. H. Richardson at 800 Sixteenth Street, N.W., across from the White House. In 1881, while Whitelaw Reid was in Europe, Hay served as editor of the Tribune; then, having decided to give up politics, he began his own travels. For the next dozen years, Hay continued to be involved in domestic political affairs as a private citizen.

When his friend William McKinley was elected president in 1896, Hay's political star grew brighter; he was appointed ambassador to Great Britain the following year, where he was much admired and succeeded in improving American relations with Britain. In September 1898, he was brought back to Washington to take up the post of Secretary of State, which he held until his death.

The stressful events of the next few years - the end of the Spanish-American War, the "Open Door" policy in China, the Boxer Rebellion, the Russo-Japanese War, the Alaska boundary treaty, and the Panama Canal treaty - eventually took their toll, and Hay, who had been in ill health for most of this time, died at his summer home, "The Fells," on the shores of Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire, on July 1, 1905.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	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.
Use of the materials:	All the materials in this collection are in the public domain and available for use without restriction.
Preferred citation:	John Hay papers, Ms.Hay, Brown University Library
Contact information:	John Hay Library John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI, 02912 Tel: 401-863-3723 email:hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The John Hay papers at Brown University were received through gifts and purchases. Gifts were received from: Clarence Hay, James W. Wadsworth, John Hay Whitney, W. Easton Louttit, Jr., Senator Stuart Symington, and John Hay (the grandson).
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Nicholas Friesner.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the RIAMCO EAD spreadsheet, 2019 Jan 29
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

Additional resources at Brown: Works for which John Hay (1838-1905) is author or contributor There are two published versions of John Hay's diaries from the Lincoln White House: Michael Burlingame and John Ettlinger, Inside Lincoln's White House : the complete Civil War diary of John Hay (Southern Illinois University Press, 1997) . This edition came about when Michael Burlingame was introduced to the transcription of Hay's diaries that had been produced by John Ettlinger, a long-time staff member of the Brown University Library. Burlingame contacted Ettlinger, and the two edited and revised Ettlinger's original transcription for publication. Ettlinger's original manuscript transcription. An earlier edition of the Hay diaries was published by Tyler Dennett in 1939: Lincoln and the Civil War in the Diaries and Letters of John Hay. The John Hay Library mounted an exhibition to mark the centennial of Hay's graduation from Brown in 1958: John Ettlinger, The Life and Works of John Hay, 1838-1905 (Brown University Library,1961). In 1990, the Friends of the Brown University Library published a special issue of Books at Brown devoted to John Hay in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of his birth. The Hay library holds a microfilm copy of the John Hay papers at the Library of Congress. Microfilm F5702, Reels 1-23. The Hay library also holds a microfilm copy of the letters to John Hay and to Mrs. Hay, May 14, 1897-Dec. 18, 1904 at the Library of Congress: Microfilm F3850r

Inventory

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