Holden, Edward Singleton and Family

[UC Berkeley][Lick Observatory] Massive Archive of the Family of Edward Singleton Holden Including Letters, Photographs, Family Memoir and Printed Material, 1880’s-1960’s

[UC Berkeley][Lick Observatory] Massive Archive of the Family of Edward Singleton Holden Including Letters, Photographs, Family Memoir and Printed Material, 1880’s-1960’s

Collection includes over 800 photographs, over 330 manuscript letters plus a variety of printed material and family ephemera. The letters generally are in very good condition with the exception of maybe 10% of them which apparently were nibbled on by critters with some loss of content. Despite this, the majority are intact and fully legible. The photos and albums range from very good to poor condition. Perhaps 50% of the photo material received ill-suited non-archival taping which is now brittle and yellow. Many of the photos and albums are annotated. The photo albums are mostly 20th century and appear to be from Edward Holden's daughters, Mabel and Mildred.

Edward Singleton Holden (1846-1914) was an American astronomer, fifth president of the University of California and first director of the Lick Observatory. In 1901 he became the librarian of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he remained until his death.

In 1873 he became professor of mathematics at the US Naval Observatory, where he made a favorable impression on Simon Newcomb. On August 28, 1877, a few days after Asaph Hall discovered the moons of Mars Deimos and Phobos, he claimed to have found a third satellite of Mars. Further analysis showed large mistakes in his observations. He was director of Washburn Observatory at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1881 to 1885. He was elected a member of the American National Academy of Sciences in 1885. He discovered a total of 22 NGC objects (New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (abbreviated NGC)) during his work at Washburn Observatory.

He was the fifth president of the University of California from 1885 until 1888, and the first director of the Lick Observatory from 1888 until the end of 1897. He resigned as a result of internal dissent over his management among his subordinates. While at the Lick Observatory, he was the founder of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and its first president (1889–1891).

Edward Singleton Holden was the son of Jeremiah Fenno and Sarah F (Singleton) Holden of St. Louis. Missouri. Edward would marry Mary Chauvenet in 1871. Mary was the daughter of William Chauvenet, a professor of mathematics, astronomy, navigation, and surveying who was instrumental in the establishment of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and later the second chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis. Together Edward and Mary would have four children including William who died at birth, Mabel (1873-1961), Mildred (1875-1932) and Edward (Ned) (1877-1956).

In 1880 Edward and Mary would separate, leaving Mary to raise the three children, living with her mother and their grandmother Catherine in St. Louis. Mary's father passed away in 1870. This separation, unusual for the time, colors many of the letters in this archive and is highlighted in Mabel's typed memoir. "Between utter loyalty to my mother, whom I adored, and my father, whose brilliant intellect and fascination and great scholarship drew me to him, while at the same time he deserted me and never asked me to be his all again...I was aghast at the life of agony in my mother's heart, for she never ceased to love my father." Later prior to one of Edward's business trips to the east, Mabel requests he visit, "No I will not come! I am convinced that I do not ever want to see your mother again, and so I cannot come to see you."

This tension between Mabel and her father manifests itself in the many letters he wrote Mabel's sister Mildred. Many times, Edward would ask Mildred about Mabel or request Mildred pass letters on to Mabel, likely indicating an estrangement. Similarly, Mildred was a conduit for her father to her little brother Ned, whom Edward felt was lazy and unmotivated.

Throughout the several hundred letters from Edward Singleton to Mildred we sense the sternness of a parent with parental pride of her accomplishments. He rarely lets us with fatherly advice and suggestions on how she live her life. "at any rate you will make a mistake if you run counter to what I ask you, in this masterful fashion."

The archive includes a number of genealogical documents with Holden emphasizing how important good social standing is. He insists in a series of letters that both Mabel and Mildred join the Massachusetts Society of Colonial Dames, "recollect that membership in this society makes you at once accepted by the very people in America." 'I find Mabel is much too lax about this indispensable mark of good breeding & you must not be." The archive also contains Holden's application for membership into the California Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Money, or the lack thereof, is a constant refrain in Edward's letters. He often apologizes for not providing better for his children. Holden was a prolific author and held appointments as UC Berkeley President and Director of Lick Observatory but was always complaining about money. In a February 1899 letter "I have not been idle a moment--but the pay waits until the publication. I want you to understand this--& to know that it is not my fault I have not been appointed to two good places with salaries & shall not try for any more such places. I am tired of fighting slanders 20 years old. It's a pity that the effect of them has to be felt by your girls--but so it is."

In a note dated October 1901 Holden writes to Mildred, "I've been appointed at West Point in chg. of library & have accepted." Holden's career was filled with controversy and disappointment. For more on his career, see "Rise and Fall of Edward S. Holden" by Donald Osterbrock published in 1984 in the Journal of Astronomy.

We find relatively little about Edward Singleton Holden's private life with few mentions of friends and no romantic clues. One curiosity arises from January 7, 1895, when Holden writes, "I shall soon go to spend a while with my old friend Mrs. Jessie Benton Fremont in Los Angeles. I'm not very well & this change is good for me." Fremont, 22 years his senior, was living on a widow's pension granted by Congress after her husband, John C. Fremont died in 1890.

Archive Includes the following:

--Photo albums with 800+ pictures in range from the 1880s to 1960s.
--A typed manuscript (88 pages) from Edward Singleton Holden's daughter Mabel detailing their relationship and his estrangement from his family, the loss of her daughter and the end of her life.
--18 letters and other documents all from the astronomer Edward Singleton Holden dealing with his time as a member of several committees at the US Naval Academy in the 1890s. There are several handwritten documents from him, and a number of documents signed by various Naval officers and more. There is interesting content throughout.
--128 handwritten and signed letters from Edward Singleton Holden to his daughter, Mildred. They are from the 1890s and are all written from Mount Hamilton at the Lick Observatory at the University of California. They have good personal content and are in mostly good condition. Many of the letters are quite long.
--140 letters to Edward Singleton Holden and his family. These letters are from family and some well-known people to him and his daughters from the 1890s into the 1910s. Some of the authors of the letters include:

Alfred Elliott Bates
Arthur Twining Hadley
Carl William Ackerman
Charles Doolittle Walcott
Clarence Cary
Fitzroy Carrington (2)
George Brinton McClellan Jr
George Lewis Gillespie Jr
George Platt Brett Sr
John Shaw Billings
Joseph Roswell Hawley
Nicholas Murray Butler (2)
Peter Smith Michie USMA
Rossiter Johnson (2)
Talcott Williams (3)
--Antique address book. There are many entries as well as blank pages included inside.
--Signed handwritten letters to Edward Singleton Holden, including sympathy cards received after his death from various people in politics and military.
--Mabel Randall-MacIver (Mabel Holden) Autobiographical Collection: Diary notes (10 pages) on legal size paper, Autobiographical notes (24 pages) on legal size paper, Autobiographical notes (8 pages) dated July 12th, 1946, Autobiographical notes (111 pages) dated from November 5th, 1949, to July 8th, 1951, Autobiographical notes (10 pages) dated April 1952.
--Fontainebleau Alumni Bulletin (April 1952) Complete issue with an article and picture of Mabel Randall-MacIver on the front page. Partial text from the article reads: "This is only a very small part of the story of Mrs. David Randall-MacIver. Her life, filled with so many interesting events from childhood to this very day, would fill volumes. It is hoped that she will find some time to devote to her autobiography."
--Records of Mabel Randall-MacIver: History of Edward Singleton Holden letter (11 Pages) dated October 7th, 1952, sent from the War Department, Library, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. - Details of his professional, educational and personal accomplishments.
--Letter (1 page) dated December 22nd, 1958. Correspondence sent from Bryn Mawr College, President's Office, regarding that there are no pictures available of the memorial to Story Kirkbride given by the class of 1922.
--Letter (2 pages) dated May 17th 1961: Holden family genealogy details.
--34 manuscript letters from Catherine Chauvenet mostly to granddaughter Mildred
--Handwritten obituary of David Randell Maclver the British-born archaeologist. He is most famous for his excavations at Great Zimbabwe which provided the first solid evidence that the site as built by the Shona people. Also, he was an intelligence officer for the American military during WWI and during WWII assisted the US army to preserve historical monuments in Europe.
--Letters to Maclver's wife expressing condolences for her loss.
--Sympathy letters written to Natalie Tuttle Martin expressing condolences for loss of Mabel/ Mildred Holden-Maclvers
--Letter (2 pages) dated November 1946 with 97 signatures: National Conservatory of Music and Declamation November 1946 Paris. 'The students of the Conservatory would like to thank the American Mutual Aid to Artists for all the good that has been done to them. They are deeply touched and grateful and will never forget what Americans do for them in hard times.'
--3 Vintage Andrea Del Sarto Drawings (#8, #58, #63)
--1 Vintage Michelangelo Drawing (#32)
--1 Vintage Sandro Botticelli Drawing (#52)

A deep dive into the family of influential scientist and writer Edward Singleton Holden. This archive has been privately held by heirs of Edward Singleton Holden and none, to our knowledge have been available for scholarship. Item #1593

Price: $4,250.00