Mcgiffert, Mechael 1928-2016 7/22/2016 Michael (Mike) McGiffert - Mount Desert Islander (Printed from hurl=http://www.mdislander.com/obituary/michael-mike-mcgiffert) Michael (Mike) McGiffert July 20, 2016 G+ P in PRETTY MARSH - Michael (Mike) McGiffert was born on Oct. 5, 1928, and died on July 2, 2016, in Williamsburg, Va. A teacher, writer and editor, he specialized in American colonial history with a primary focus on religious thought and experience. A cum laude graduate of Harvard in 1949, he also held B.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale. From 1954 to 1972, he taught American history at Colgate University and the University of Denver. While in Denver he published a history of The Higher Learning in Colorado as well as documentary collections on American national character, American social thought and Puritanism in early New England. For the next twenty-five years, he edited The William and Mary Quarterly at the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture in Williamsburg, Va. He also taught at the College of William and Mary. Mike, who saw editing as a form of teaching, was known as an active, caring, hands-on mentor to the younger historians whose work he delighted both to improve and to advance. Michael received numerous fellowships and grants, wrote articles and book reviews for many periodicals, was a member of the board of directors for various historical associations, and was a founding member of the Unitarian Universalists church in Williamsburg, Va. At the time of his death, he was completing a history of 17th-century puritan covenant thought in Britain and New England. As a boy, Mike lived with his family in Chicago and Berkeley, and spent summers on Mount Desert Island. His memories of those summers are captured in "A Boy in Summer: Pretty Marsh, The 1930s," published by the Mount Desert Island Historical Society in 2007. Until recently, he returned annually to Pretty Marsh, a home that he treasured above all others. http://www.mdislander.com/obituary/michael-mike-mcgiffert 1/2 7/22/2016 Michael (Mike) McGiffert - Mount Desert Islander From 1949-1959, he was married to Elizabeth Eastman of Berkeley. In 1960, he married the opera director and voice teacher Genevieve White Mischel, whose long, productive, professional dedication to the art of song ended with her death in 2007. Mike was also predeceased by his parents, Arthur Cushman and Elisabeth Eliot McGiffert, and his older brother David McGiffert. He is survived by his sister Ellen Brokaw, of California, seven nieces and nephews, and 13 great nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 20, at 4 p.m., at the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists church at 3051 Ironbound Road, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Gifts in Mike's memory may be donated to the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists, or to the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture at the College of William and Mary, P.O. Box 8781, Williamsburg, VA 23187. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES Roosevelt Keith Trembley Colonel's Restaurant Campobello Home Solution & Bakery International Park P.O. Box 428, Old Town, 143 Main Street 459 Route 774 Maine 04468 Northeast Harbor, ME 04662 Welshpool, NB 207-827-4205 (207) 276 - 5147 506-752-2922 http://www.mdislander.com/obituary/michael-mike-mcgiffert JSTOR: William and Mary Quarterly: 3rd Ser., Vol. 54. No. 2, p. [289] Page 1 of 2 SEARCH BROWSE was TIPS I i SET PREFERENCES ANN ABOUT ISTOR I CON PRINT DOWNLOAD CITATION/STABLE URL TABLE OF CONTENTS SEARCH RESULTS Your acc STOR Souther EXIT JSTOR At least one of your search term(s) appear on one or more of the following pages: [283] 284 285 286 287 288 289 [290] 2911 292 [293] 294 295 298 300 302 [305] 306 Previous Item In Journal Previous Page p. [289] of 283-306 (7th of 24 pages) Next Page Next Item In Journal Jump to Another Page of This Article Mike McGiffert Edits His Journal Speaking as a veteran early Americanist who has devoured every issue of the William and Mary Quarterly avidly for forty-five years-and who has enjoyed the rare privilege and pleasure of publishing articles with editors Douglass Adair, Bill Towner, Bill Abbot, Thad Tate, and Mike McGiffert-CI see Mike's twenty-five-year tenure as enormously important for the develop~ ment of the journal and the development of our field. Not only has Mike served far longer than any of his predecessors, he has edited the Quarterly at a time of fundamental change. Between 1972 and 1997, historians have been ask- ing questions about life in colonial and Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary America that nobody thought to ask when Mike and I were starting our careers. The old, narrow, top-down political and intellectual history that he and I grew up on has largely been supplanted by a much broader kind of social and cultural history that endeavors to recreate an entire population in motion via issues of race, class, and gender. And the relatively small community of early Americanists of the 1960s has greatly increased in size and variety. Mike has faced the daunting task of trying to keep pace with changing scholarly interests while at the same time trying to expand the number of scholars-particularly young scholars-who publish in the Quarterly. No one in such an exposed position can hope to escape criticism from one quar~ ter or another. Since Mike can only accept about one out of five articles sub- mitted, he necessarily disappoints 80 percent of his authors. And I have to confess that I have personally complained to Mike with more vigor than tact about several of his editorial strategies. So I would like to take this opportu- nity to state publicly that overall I think he has succeeded extraordinarily well in the task he set himself. Under his guidance, the Quarterly has become a livelier and more diversified journal than ever before. Naturally, I have particularly fond memories of the way in which Editor http://www.jstor.org/view/00435597/di982534/98p04972/6?currentResult=004.../01cc9933410050adle0e&dpi= 12/2/2002 JSTOR: William and Mary Quarterly: 3rd Ser., Vol. 54. No. 2. p. [289] Page 2 of 2 McGiffert handled the two articles I submitted to him for publication: a comparative study of slave life on two plantations in Jamaica and Virginia (published in 1977) and an examination of how John Winthrop composed his Journal (published in 1984). Mike was generously supportive of both efforts, and-more important-he raised important interpretive questions, especially concerning the slavery piece, that dealt with issues far removed from his own New England Puritan field of interest. He got the slavery piece into print twenty months after I submitted it and the Winthrop piece--in what must have been close to record time-in only nine months. Looking back over my correspondence with Mike, I am struck by the diplomatic delicacy with which he asked me to make constructive changes and the rude intemperance with which I rejected a number of suggestions that would have improved my work. One change 1 did accept. My second piece was originally entitled "Author at Work: John Winthrop and His Journal," and Mike suggested a far better title: "John Winthrop Writes His Journal.' Thank you, Mike! RICHARD S. DUNN Previous Item In Journal Previous Page p. [289] of 283-306 (7th of 24 pages) Next Page Next Item In Journal Jump to Another Page of This Article Forum: Editing Early America: Michael McGiffert and the William and Mary Quarterly, 1972-1997 William and Mary Quarterly ( 1997 Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture ©2000-2002 JSTOR PRINT DOWNLOAD I I CITATION/STABLE URL TABLE OF CONTENTS SEARCH RESULTS I JSTOR HOME SEARCH BROWSE | TIPS SET PREFERENCES ABOUT JSTOR CONTACT JSTOR TERMS & CONDITIONS ] http://www.jstor.org/view/00435597/di982534/98p04972/6?currentResult=004.../01cc9933410050adle0e&dpia 12/2/2002 JSTOR: William and Mary Quarterly: 3rd Ser., Vol. 54, No. 2, p. [283] Page 1 of 2 SEARCH I BROWSE I TIPS I SET PREFERENCES I ABOUT ISTOR I CON PRINT DOWNLOAD CITATION/STABLE URL TABLE OF CONTENTS Your acc STOR Souther EXIT JSTOR Previous Item In Journal Previous Page p. [283] of 283-306 (1st of 24 pages) Next Page Next Item In Journal Jump to Another Page of This Article Forum Editing Early America: Michael McGiffert and the William and Mary Quarterly, 1972-1997 A S readers of the William and Mary Quarterly know, Michael McGiffert will be retiring as editor in July 1997, after twenty-five highly distinguished years. Early in 1996, I began thinking about how the Institute might most fittingly honor Mike and his remarkable record of achievement. His deep commitment to the Quarterly persuaded me that whatever was done should be tied to the journal. After much thought, I con- cluded that the most appropriate and enduring tribute would be to make Mike and his career the subject of a Forum in one of the last issues to be produced under his direction. The pieces as I envisioned them would not be formal assessments but more personal reflections on Mike and what his edi- torship has meant to early American scholarship. Hence the Forum's title is "Editing Early America: Michael McGiffert and the William and Mary Quarterly, 1972-1997." In the spring of last year, I wrote to a representative sample of early Americanists asking them to contribute to this very special Forum. I empha- sized that this was to be a surprise for Mike and that the only persons aware of the plan were those invited to participate and Ann Gross, the Quarterly's managing editor. By the adroit use of two sets of page proofs and other fancy footwork, Ann and I believe that we have kept Mike in the dark. It is now the Institute's pleasure to share these observations with Mike and the http://www.jstor.org/view/00435597/di982534/98p04972/0 12/2/2002 JSTOR: William and Mary Quarterly: 3rd Ser., Vol. 54, No. 2, p. [283] Page 2 of 2 readership or the journal ne nas eatted with such aistincton. Through the William and Mary Quarterly, the early American field has enjoyed the enormous benefit of Michael McGiffert's intellect, his keen edi- torial eye, his graceful prose, and his commitment to excellence. All the same, a summation of his widely acknowledged professional abilities does not give at full measure of the man. During the nearly five since I became the Institute's director, I have had the good fortune to experience firsthand the loyalty, warm encouragement, and generosity of spirit that make Mike McGiffert an estimable colleague and valued friend. For all these reasons and many more, his daily presence among us will be deeply missed. RONALD HOFFMAN Previous Item In Journal Previous Page p. [283] of 283-306 (1st of 24 pages) Next Page Next Item In Journal Jump to Another Page of This Article Forum: Editing Early America: Michael McGiffert and the William and Mary Quarterly, 1972-1997 William and Mary Quarterly © 1997 Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture ©2000-2002 JSTOR PRINT DOWNLOAD CITATION/STABLE URL TABLE OF CONTENTS ] JSTOR HOME SEARCH BROWSE I TIPS SET PREFERENCES ] [ ABOUT JSTOR CONTACT JSTOR TERMS & CONDITIONS ] http://www.jstor.org/view/00435597/di982534/98p04972/0 12/2/2002 December 20, 2004 Maine Department of Environmental Protection Att: Hetty Richardson 17 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0017 Dear Ms. Richardson, I have been told that the Department of Environmental Protection is drafting rules for the disposal of cruise ship waste in Maine waters. The subject is of concern to me because I have spent part of almost every summer of my 76 years at Pretty Marsh Harbor on Blue Hill Bay. Now it's true that Blue Hill Bay isn't very likely to become a venue for cruise ships, but I have only to look across Mount Desert Island to Bar Harbor to get a strong and worried sense of the growing magnitude and urgency of the issue. I'm glad your department is tackling it. I've been told by friends (at Hancock Point) that Alaska leads the United States in the stringency of its control of seaborne waste. The long-standing problem there must be quite similar to the growing problem in Maine. I hope you will look closely into Alaska's regulations, and take appropriate guidance from them as a model. So many resources are at stake --fishing and lobstering especially, but also boating, whale-watching and other tourist recreational activities. I have no idea how serious the problem has already become. The point is to keep it from becoming serious in the first place. I wish you well in finding the most effective way to do so. Sincerely, Michael McGiffert 102 Old Glory Court Williamsburg, VA 23185 88 Bartlett's Landing Road Mount Desert, ME 04660 OMOHUNDRO INSTITUTE OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY & CULTURE (/INDEX.CFM) Home (/index.cfm) Uncommon Sense (/ucs/) To the Editor UNCOMMON SENSE (/UCS/INDEX.HTML) PAGE MENU The following is from the Uncommon Sense archives. It first appeared in the Winter/Spring 2012-2013 issue, no. 131. TO THE EDITOR: A VISIT WITH MIKE MCGIFFERT I took advantage of a trip to Virginia in early December to spend a day with Mike McGiffert at his home. I found him in overall good health, though he continues to be treated for prostate cancer and has lost some of his previously fine head of hair. We talked about a variety of things, including retirement, common friends, and seventeenth century puritanism, the last being the field that has occupied his and my scholarly attention for decades. The good news is that Mike is almost finished work on his monumental and comprehensive study of Covenant Theology. This will be the most significant study of the subject since Perry Miller's and goes far beyond Miller in its detailed examination of all the theologians on both sides of the Atlantic who developed and modified that understanding of God's relationships with man. Frank Bremer 1/10/2015 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. g+1 o More Next Blog Create Blog Sign In Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. A teacher, preacher, and well published church leader of the 20th century, Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. is remembered here in this obituary (with slight adaptations) as it was published in the New York Times, 1993. It was composed by his son, Michael McGiffert, editor of the William & Mary Quarterly. 20060815 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr., 1892 - 1993 with 2006-08-15 April 10, 1993 1 Power B Blogger posted by Family of Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. I 15.8.06 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr., 1892 - 1993 http://acmcgiffertjr.blogspot.com/ 1/4 1/10/2015 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. Arthur Cushman NcGiffert, Jr Chicago, 1937 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr., 100, a minister of the United Church of Christ (Congregational) and former president of the Chicago Theological Seminary and the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA, died on April 9,1993, in Claremont, CA. McGiffert, born in Cincinnati, OH, on November 27, 1892, was the son of Arthur Cushman McGiffert, a distinguished historian of Christian thought, and Gertrude Huntington (Boyce) McGiffert, a poet. He grew up in Pelham Manor, NY, and attended school in New York City. He graduated in 1913 from Harvard College, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. In 1913 - 1914 he held a postgraduate fellowship at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece. In 1917 he received the Bachelor of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York and an M.A. from Columbia University. He was ordained the same year into the Congregational ministry. On May 29, 1917, he was married to Elisabeth Eliot, of Cambridge, MA, daughter of Samuel Atkins Eliot and Frances Hopkinson Eliot, and granddaughter of Charles William Eliot, former president of Harvard. After a marriage of 74 years, she predeceased him in 1991. Mr. McGiffert taught briefly at Union Theological Seminary and was in quick succession a YMCA Secretary at the Pensacola, FL Naval Air Station, a US Army chaplain, a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, and a Traveling Fellow of Union Seminary at the University of Zurich. http://acmcgiffertjr.blogspot.com/ 2/4 1/10/2015 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. After short stints of pastoral service in Rensselaerville, NY, Roxbury, VT, and New York City, Mr. McGiffert became pastor of All Souls Church in Lowell, MA, where he served from 1920-26. From 1926 - 39 he taught American religious thought at the Chicago Theological Seminary while also serving as director of studies, with a special interest in pastoral psychology. During those years he published a biography of the theologian Jonathan Edwards as well as editions of his father's writings, Christianity as History and Faith, and the sermons of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Young Emerson Speaks. His numerous writings on religious and civic affairs exemplified and applied the values of religious liberalism. The seminary awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1939. As president of the Pacific School of Religion from 1939 to 1945, McGiffert launched ecumenical programs with neighboring religious institutions for training pastors and lay leaders and for postwar rehabilitation in central Europe and China. He was active in the American Association of Theological Seminaries. He helped form and direct a Committee on American Principles and Fair Play to defend and assist interned Japanese Americans. As a member of the Berkeley draft board, he had a special concern for the rights of conscientious objectors. In 1945 he received an honorary Litt. D. from the Pacific School of Religion and an LL.D. from the College (now University) of the Pacific. In 1946, McGiffert returned to the Chicago Theological Seminary as president. There he promoted curricular experimentation through the recently formed Federated Theological Faculty, a consortium of four neighboring seminaries. He successfully maintained his institution's autonomy when efforts were made to incorporate it into the University of Chicago Divinity School. He was highly regarded as an administrator, counselor, and preacher. He served as chairman of the Chicago branch of the American Civil Liberties Union and as trustee of Dillard University in New Orleans. After retiring in 1959, McGiffert continued to act in academic, church, and community affairs. In 1960 he held a Fulbright lectureship at Cambridge University. A long-time summer resident on Mount Desert Island, Maine, he was a founding trustee of the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, taught at Bangor Theological Seminary, and served on the boards of the Maine Seacoast Mission, the Mount Desert Larger Parish, and the Mount Desert hospital. He took a strong interest in safety on the island's roads and in issues concerning Acadia National Park. In retirement he published a history of the Chicago Theological Seminary, No Ivory Tower, and a biography of his father-in-law, Pilot of a Liberal http://acmcgiffertjr.blogspot.com/ 3/4 1/10/2015 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. Faith. His last work, a personal memoir titled Anecdotage, was completed and printed in the year of his death. After 1971, McGiffert lived at Pilgrim Place, a church-related retirement community in Claremont. Survivors include two sons, David Eliot McGiffert, of Washington, D.C., and Michael McGiffert, of Williamsburg, VA, a daughter, Ellen McGiffert Brokaw, of Santa Paula, CA, 7 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. posted by Family of Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. I 15.8.06 http://acmcgiffertjr.blogspot.com/ 4/4 CHARLES W. ELIOT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT . PLANNING CONSULTANT 25 RESERVOIR STREET CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 02138 TELEPHONE: KIRKLAND 7-3714 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GARDENS AND ESTATES CITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING PARKS AND RECREATION AREAS September 9, 1969 Mr. Robert E. Garrity, Secretary Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations Bar Harbor, Maine 04609 Dear Mr. Garrity, My brother-in-law, Dr. Cushman McGiffert, wrote to me after the annual meeting of the Trustees on August 12th, that he had agreed with you to offer a resolution at the meeting to bring before the body the concern expressed in my letter to you of August 8, 1969. I understand that after some discussion the resolution was referred to the Executive Committee or the Officers with "power to act. 11 Would you be kind enough to send me a copy of the item in the minutes of the annual meeting dealing with the question which I raised in my letter, - with the wording of the resolution offered by my brother-in-la - and the discussion and disposition of the item? Has the Executive Committee considered the matter or scheduled a time for its consideration? Would any further information from me be in any way helpful? Sincerely, Charles W. Eliot cc. Mr. Good Mr. Butler Dr. McGiffert Hancock County Trustees Of Public Reservations Trustees Of Mrs. Axel Eliason The Colonel Black, Mansion Caretaker And Curator In Ellsworth, Maine Special Meeting of the Executive Committee at 4 P.M., September 19,1969 A special Executive Committee meeting was held,as stated above, at the White House behind the Black House. This meeting was suggested at the Annual Trustees meeting to consider Dr. Cushman McGiffert's motion, made at that time, to protest the alienation of land from Acadia National Park that had been deeded to the Park by the Trustees, some years past. The following were present: Executive Committee members John Raymond, Albert Cunningham, Charles Hurley, Benjamin Weir, Mrs Elizabeth Lovell, Herbert Sulsby, Edwin Smith and Robert Carrity. Stanley Richmond, Curator was also present. The Acadia National Park Superintendent John Good,Chief Ranger Robert Bennewiss, and their attorney Douglas Chapman were also present. Phyllis Marsters, of the Hale and Hamlin office,was present to record the pertinent motions of the meeting. Alengthy discussion took place by all present. Messrs Richmond, Silsby and Hurley,having done some research on previsesactions of the Trustees relative to swapping, selling and in other ways, disposing of lands under the control of the Trustees led the discussion. Judge Smith on his arrival also added to the legal aspects of the matter at hand. Herbert Silsby moved the following motion: n I move,in the matter of the McGiffert resolution, that we find no breach of trust by the United States of America in connection with the proposed exchange of land in the Town of Mount Desert. We therefore vote not to protest said exchange, and deem it unnecessary to call a special meeting of the Board of Trustees." This motion was seconded and after discussion was adopted Charles Hurley moved the following resolution: # I move that a letter be writted to Charles W. Eliot outlining the reasons for the adoption of the motion by the Executive Board and that a copy of the letter be sent to each member of the Board of Trustees". seconded This motion was and after discussion was adopted. There being no further business to come before the meeting it was adjorned at 6:10 P.M. REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CONCERNING ACADIA NATIONAL PARK LANDS At the annual meeting 1969 of the Hancook County Trustees of Public Reservations, Inc. it was voted that the executive committee look into the matter of the United States of America exchanging a small parcel of land contained in Acadia National Park with a private individual for a parcel next to the Park. The Trustees are interested because the land in the Park proposed to be exchanged was originally deeded to the United States by the Corporation. It was suggested at the annual meeting that perhaps the United States held the land in trust and could not properly convey any of the land deeded it by the Corporation. The . recutive committee have studied the matter carefully and find that such exchanges have taken place in the past on at least three occasions by the Trustees for various purposes. However the Trustees' records do not indicate any such action ever taken with respect to land deeded the United States. The committee have been given a copy of a legal brief prepared for the United States which gives the opinion that the United States is authorized to make the exchange of land and that there is no trust created by the deed from the Trustees to the United States. In view of the precedents and legal opinion it was voted by the committee not to protest the exchange and that the Trustees be so informed. It should be noted that the exchange is relatively insignificant and that an entirely different situation would be created if there were a proposal to substantially change the use or convey a large part of the land. This decision of the executive committee is not to be taken as a precedent where in the future there may be any proposal for a substantial change in the holdings, use or character of the Park. 2nd Written Incorporated may by Hurbet or in late Stanley T Silaby 1970 i Quartery Before of hay 1970 7/21/2016 Mount Desert Islander MICHAEL MCGIFFERT was a member of the board of directors for various historical associations, and was a found- ing member of the Unitarian Universalists church in Wil- liamsburg, Va. At the time of his death, he was completing a history of 17th-century puri- tan covenant thought in Brit- ain and New England. As a boy, Mike lived with his family in Chicago and Berkeley, and spent summers PRETTY MARSH on Mount Desert Island. His Michael (Mike) Mc- memories of those summers Giffert was born on are captured in "A Boy in Sum- Oct. 5, 1928, and died mer: Pretty Marsh, The 1930s," on July 2, 2016, in Williams- published by the Mount Des- burg, Va. ert Island Historical Society in A teacher, writer and editor, 2007. he specialized in American co- Until recently, he returned lonial history with a primary annually to Pretty Marsh, a focus on religious thought home that he treasured above and experience. A cum laude all others. graduate of Harvard in 1949, From 1949-1959, he was he also held B.D. and Ph.D. married to Elizabeth East- degrees from Yale. man of Berkeley. In 1960, he From 1954 to 1972, he married the opera director taught American history at and voice teacher Genevieve Colgate University and the White Mischel, whose long, University of Denver. While productive, professional dedi- in Denver he published a his- cation to the art of song ended tory of The Higher Learning in with her death in 2007. Mike Colorado as well as documen- was also predeceased by his tary collections on American parents, Arthur Cushman and national character, American Elisabeth Eliot McGiffert, and social thought and Puritanism his older brother David Mc- in early New England. Giffert. He is survived by his For the next twenty-five sister Ellen Brokaw, of Califor- years, he edited The William nia, seven nieces and nephews, and Mary Quarterly at the and 13 great nieces and neph- Omohundro Institute of Early ews. American History and Cul- A memorial service will ture in Williamsburg, Va. He be held on Saturday, Aug. 20, also taught at the College of at 4 p.m., at the Williamsburg William and Mary. Mike, who Unitarian Universalists church saw editing as a form of teach- at 3051 Ironbound Road, Wil- ing, was known as an active, liamsburg, VA 23185. Gifts caring, hands-on mentor to in Mike's memory may be the younger historians whose donated to the Williamsburg work he delighted both to im- Unitarian Universalists, or to prove and to advance. the Omohundro Institute of Michael received numer- Early American History and ous fellowships and grants, Culture at the College of Wil- wrote articles and book re- liam and Mary, P.O. Box 8781, views for many periodicals, Williamsburg, VA 23187. 10/16/2016 XFINITY Connect XFINITY Connect eppster2@comcast.net Font Size Michael McGiffert From Ellen Brokaw Sun, Oct 16, 2016 PM 1 attachment Subject: Michael McGiffert To Gloria Main , Jean Waldera , Charles L. Cohen , Gerald McCue , Townley McGiffert , Carol Joiner , Cynthia Donnell , Ronald & Elizabth Epp , Olga V. Mishutina , GARY NASH , Virginia Mason Vaughan , Alden Vaughan , Stephen Foster , David Parnham , Sarah McGiffert , Nancy Livingston , Jacqueline Davis , Mary W. Toynbee Dear friends of Michael, In early August I emailed to all of you the notice of Michael's death and received back from you absolutely marvelous recollections of Mike. I learned a great deal about Mike from your notes. I had no idea that he had such a profound and lasting influence on so many people. This was a wonderful introduction to the generous mentor and teacher that I never knew. Thank you all! I am attaching a Memorial Service folder which you can dip into if you are interested. My favorite bit is the "Fluff" speech he wrote when he was fifteen. Some of you also asked for more details of Mike's last months which were, I'm glad to say, characterized by contentment. He went though a long, lonely period of grieving and declining health after Gen's death in 2007. In January 2014 he finally agreed to leave their lovely home and take up residence in the WindsorMeade retirement community. Because of ill health and short term memory loss he wasn't able to manage in his first independent living quarters and soon moved into the assisted living wing in the same building. There he settled down in a comfortable two room apartment, resumed work on The Book, and regained weight and vitality although not his memory. Long term memory remained acute and he continued to recite poems, sing all the verses of innumerable songs in his rich baritone, and come up with apt quotes and pithy commentary on matters both political and personal. He had been under prolonged chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer but decided to end treatment in 2015. It certainly is possible that the cancer caused his death although he never had any pain or indications that it had metastasized. I think it more likely that the advancing confusion in his brain convinced him that he could no longer work on his manuscript and, with that useful occupation ended, he just didn't see any particular reason to continue living. He told me often that the thought of not waking up in the morning was a happy one. He felt that he had lived a long, useful and blessed life and just stopped eating and getting out of bed. Our older brother, Dave, died a few years ago so now I am the last one left of the family of five. I miss acutely the many conversations Mike and had about our shared early years: Do you remember the day and What did Mother say when etc. At the same time I am overwhelmingly grateful that, after both our spouses died and after years of friendly but not intimate contact, Mike and had the opportunity to forge a loving connection that enriched both our lives. My best wishes to all of you, Ellen P.S. The Book manuscript, a study of the puritan doctrine of the divine convenient in sixteenth and seventeenth century Britain and New England, is in the hands of Mike's friend and colleague, Frances Bremer who is preparing it for publication. Memorial Service.zip 3 MB https://web.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/h/printmessage?id=393502&tz=America/New_York&xim=1 1/1 Verizon Yahoo! Mail eppster2@verizon.net Page 1 of 2 Verizon Yahoo! Mail Verizon Central Yahoo! Search: Web Search Welcome, eppster2@verizon Mail Home All-New Mail Tutorials Help YAHOO! verizon [Sign Out, Member Center MAIL Classic Mail Contacts Calendar Notepad Mail For Mobile - Options Check Mail Compose Search Mail Search the Web Folders Previous Next I Back to Messages [Add Edit] Inbox (35) Delete Reply Forward Move Draft This message is not flagged. [ Flag Message - Mark as Unread Printable View Sent Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 05:06:09 (PST) Bulk [Empty] "ELIZABETH and RONALD EPP" Add to Trash [Empty] From: Address Book Add Mobile Alert My Folders [Hide] Subject: Dr, Cushman McGiffert Eliz messages (1) To: mcgiff@widowmaker.com Member Information Dear Mike, Ron Archives (26) I hope you are faring well this Holiday Season and that the weather has not Search Shortcuts been too limiting. It is snowing here again this morning on top of 9 inches on December 3rd, 3 the next week, and more than a foot in the last two days. I My Photos love the snow and since my skiing days are behind me, snowshoeing will have My Attachments to do. I've been kept indoors since my return from MDI two weeks ago. I sprained my left trapesius muscle resulting in spasms of pain running down to my fingertips. The steroids are finally beginning to work and I've returned to finishing the Dorr biography. Which brings me to why I'm writing at this time. I've been examining quite closely the thirty year controversy involving Charles W. Eliot II and the establishment of a permanent boundary for Acadia National Park. I don't know how familiar you are with this issue but recently I've been drawing together scattered manuscripts held by the Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations, Harvard University, the Hancock County Trustees of Reservations, and Eliot's son, Lawrence (of Ipswich, MA). On this trip to Ellsworth, I discovered that your father was also involved, allying himself with CWE II "to protest the alienation of land from Acadia National Park." In trying to permanently fix the boundary both Eliot and your father believed that a breach of trust was being violated; they argued that the Trustees should not join with the NPS in fixing permanent boundaries since the original intent of Dr. Eliot and Mr. Dorr--and by implication the Trustees-- was to allow for expansion of the park that was consistent with patching together natural communities that furthered their survival and our understanding of "ecological" processes (anticipating the development of "ecology" in the last half of the 20th-century). Hundreds of pages of documentation spanning four decades deal with this battle. A Ph.D. candidate or young researcher would be challenged to explain how this struggle relates to land conservation in mid-20th-century America. What I wonder is whether you were aware of this matter, whether you know of documents relating to it (especially involving the McGiffert family), and what your personal views are on this matter. http://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=5969_1797840_97000_634_2363... 12/20/2007 Verizon Yahoo! Mail -eppster2@verizon.net - Page 2 of 2 Finally, there is a letter at Ellsworth's Black House from the Executive Director of the Trustees (E. Paine) to your father dated August 25, 1951 responding to an inquiry from McGiffert as to how the Trustees were going to handle the dissemination of information regarding the recent death of Samuel A. Eliot (unfortunately, the letter from your father is not in the Trustee archives). Here we learn that it had been accepted practice to ignore testimonial or obituary statements since 11 we have so many elderly members, that we are bound to lose some of them every year, that they are often quite distinguished in one field or another,[and] that if we were to pass resolutions in the conventional way it would be hard to draw the line." Paine admits that there have been exceptions and as a concession proposes that Park Superintendent Hadley "write the notice, basing it perhaps on what he said at the memorial services." Frankly, I wonder whether your father found this to be adequate and if there is any extant family correspondence on the matter. Do you have any impressions that you'd be willing to share? Still snowing here and I must run to have some breakfast and put out the garbage. My very best wishes to you for the holidays and the New Year. Ron Epp Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 47 Pond View Drive Merrimack, NH 03054 (603) 424-6149 eppster2@verizon.net Delete Reply Forward Move Previous Next Back to Messages Save Message Text | Full Headers Check Mail Compose Search Mail Search the Web Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. | Copyright/IP Policy Terms of Service Send Feedback Help NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy. verizon YAHOO! http://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=5969_1797840_97000_634_2363.. 12/20/2007 Verizon Yahoo! Mail - eppster2@verizon.net Page 1 of 1 Verizon Yahoo! Mail Verizon Central Yahoo! Search: Web Search Welcome, eppster2@verizon Mail Home All-New Mail Tutorials Help YAHOO! verizon [Sign Out, Member Center MAIL Classic Mail Contacts Calendar Notepad Mail For Mobile - Options Check Mail Compose Search Mail Search the Web Folders [Add Edit] Previous Next I Back to Messages Inbox (36) Delete Reply Forward Spam Move Draft This message is not flagged. [ Flag Message - Mark as Unread ] Printable View Sent Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 11:26:45 -0500 Bulk [Empty] "McGiffert" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Trash [Empty] From: Alert My Folders [Hide] Subject: Your queries Eliz messages (1) To: "ELIZABETH and RONALD EPP" Member Information Hello, Ron! Ron Archives (26) It's very good to hear from you and get caught up a bit on your scholarly investigations. I won't mention the weather except to say that if you love the snow as Search Shortcuts you say you do you should stay where you are and give up any notion of heading south. Williamsburg has no snow, has not had any snow, and (I, for one, hope) will My Photos not have any, at least for Christmas. For myself, I had quite enough of the white stuff My Attachments growing up in Chicago. It can happen here. I remember one winter maybe 20 years ago when we had 40"--more, indeed, than Boston that year, and quite enough to keep the snow bunnies happy for some time after. Glad to see you digging into the controversy over the park's boundary and wondering, just between us, what position you would have taken at the time. I wish I could add to your documentary haul, but whatever documents may survive are at Pretty Marsh and I won't be able to get at them till May or June. I dimly remember my father's being active on the subject, and it may be that papers survive from that activity, though I fear not many if any at all. I'm putting into my 2008 datebook a reminder to check. I'm sorry to have to tell you that I have no recollection at all of the business of the SAE memorial. Will check for that also. Thanks again for keeping in touch. Christmas greetings to you both. I hope our paths will cross again in the coming year. Mike Delete Reply Forward Spam Move Previous Next Back to Messages Save Message Text | Full Headers Check Mail Compose Search Mail Search the Web Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. I Copyright/IP Policy I Terms of Service I Send Feedback Help NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy. verizon YAHOO! http://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=460_1813794_120158_1748_155 12/20/2007 XFINITY Connect Page 1 of 1 XFINITY Connect eppster2@comcast.ne + Font Size om Ron Epp From : Ronald & Elizabeth Epp Wed, Feb 15, 2012 04:55 PM Subject : om Ron Epp 1 attachment To : mcgiff@widowmaker.com Dear Mike, I see from my files that I have not inquired about your well being since last June when I wrote to inform you that we had decided to relocate to a retirement community (Cornwall Manor) just north of Lancaster and east of Hershey PA. My apologies for the lapse of attention. We made the painful transition to Pennsylvania (see attached holiday letter) and have no doubts that we made the right move to the right place at the right time. But we were ill prepared for a threat to Elizabeth's health and well being. Within two months after arrival, she found herself with small sore on her tongue and brought it to the attention of our dentist (as she had done when it was biopsied two years earlier). Perhaps because she has never smoked, the dentist tended to dismiss it until my wife persisted, was sent finally to an one surgeon who had it biopsied--it was malignant.In early January a ENT surgeon removed a finger sized piece of her tongue--to say the least, she dropped quite a bit of weight because of an inability to eat while she healed. She is now under the care of several physicians at PSU Hershey Medical Center where they were disinclined to start radiation until she had a a node on her thyroid biopsied and another surgery to remove and biopsy her neck lymph nodes which will take place next month. So far our Pennsylvania retirement has been less than what we hoped but we take matters a day at a time and move on. We have been fortunate that the winter has been very mild so we have been exploring the area during this medical hiatus. We hope to travel further south this summer & fall, with visits to friends in Annapolis and Baltimore; yet I see no reason why we can't broaden our travels to include Williamsburg where it has been decades since our last visit. How have you been faring? Any family news about MDI? Obviously, we have not been there since last May but I yearn to return and continue several avenues of research. I look forward to hearing from you. Most cordially, Ron Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 532 Sassafras Dr. Lebanon, PA 17042 717-272-0801 eppster2@comcast.net Holiday Letter 2011Rev3.doc 29 KB http://sz0122.wc.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/h/printmessage?id=31423&tz=America/New_Y..2/15/2012 Page 1 of 2 Re: Checking In From "McGiffert" To Date 06/04/2011 09:19:27 AM Dear Ron and Elizabeth, Thanks for checking in, and congratulations on finding such a good place to live, even though it's not here. How'm I doing? Very well, thank you. After six of the scheduled ten rounds of chemo the PSA has come down from high 20s to only 1.85. Oncologist says this is remarkable. Even so, chemo go another four (spaced every three weeks). Each injection pretty much cancels energy for about ten days. Today is the tenth from the last one, and I'm about to find out whether I'm functional on the book. I was looking at Eliot stuff yesterday on the web and was happily surprised to see how full and fine a piece SAE has. I take it for your work. Thanks! Happy settling! Mike Original Message From: To: "=?utf-8?b??=' Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 3:33 PM Subject: Checking In > > Dear Mike, > > Elizabeth and I are just back from a foggy and coled five days on MDI. I > had been invited by the Park to talk to the ranger corps on the myths and > misperceptions about Mr. Dorr. And by the Jesup Memorial Library on the > occasion of their centennial about Dorr's role in establishing the > facility. Both were well received but I'm afraid I had little time for > dear Elizabeth with some additional research in the law archives of the > attorneys that facilitated the conservation efforts of Dorr and JDR, Jr. > some striking discoveries here! > > Elizabeth and I have decided on a Pennsylvania retirement community where > we have deposited $$ for a single-family residence near Hershey called > Cornwall Manor. We've put our condo up for sale, packed many of our > belongings, gave away or discarded the "stuff" of life, and arranged with > a mover for relocation in early August. Its exhausting with feelings > ranging from Kierkegaardian dread to elation. > > But the reason why I wrote is to ask how you are faring with your > chemotherapy. Do let us know how you are. > > I've been redrafting the Dorr ms. and going back to the Eliot family > resources. Curiously, I met Nan Lincoln for the firrst time in a Bar > Harbor village store. I promised to send her some Eliot content from the > ms. > > We'll keep in touch. > > Ron & Liz > > Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. > 47 Pondview Drive > Merrimack, NH 03054 > (603) 424-6149 > eppster2@myfairpoint.net https://webmail.myfairpoint.net/mail/message.php?index=9768 6/4/2011 Page 1 of 4 Re: From Ron Epp From "McGiffert" To Date 02/15/2011 11:12:14 AM Original Message From: To: "McGiffert" Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 11:16 AM Subject: Re: From Ron Epp Dear Ron, Chemotherapy can keep me from doing my own work but not from laying hands on yours. Thanks for sharing the proposal. May I--as a retired but unrepentant editor--offer a thought or two? Try a stronger title. Becoming? The Making of? Name each of the triumvirate in the third paragraph. Why the whack at "posturing" NPS administrators? Tactics, my friend; tactics! Well, if WMeade's too steep, WLanding is probably steeper. But don't worry about a rising creek. College Creek, the one in point, has hardly begun when it passes the Landing and has never risen in my time here--forty years. Even if it did, the Landing stands well above it. I assume you've tried Harvard UP. I know only one editor who might free-lance (my former managing editor and expert proof-reader at the WMQ) and haven't the foggiest whether she'd be interested. If she were, she'd be good. Ann Gross. She's married, by the way, to Bob Gross, who wrote Minitemen of Concord. I expect she proofed Bob's MS and galleys. She doesn't know Maine but why should she for your purposes? Have you checked re: presses and proofreaders with Judy Goldstein? Best wishes for good hunting all round! I want Dorr to be in print! Mike > > Dear Mike, > > Wonderful to hear from you! > > Your bout with prostate cancer resonates with me. So far I've been > spared a recurrence since I was diagnosed in October 2006 and opted > for the implantating of radioactive "seeds." Thus far my numbers have > remained flat. We wish you the very best!! > > We appreciate your slant on retirement to Williamsburg. Right now it is > a most recent interest and I'll know more when I get the information I > requested from Williamsburg Landing but I found its proximity to a > nearby creek to be off putting because our condominium has been struck > by two flood of the century impacts in the decade we've been here. > Windsor Meade proved too expensive and I didn't care for the layout. We > have some time for a trip south in April and we'll be looking at some > communities but whether we come as far south as Williamsburg is still > up in the air. We'll keep you informed. > > My original contract for the Dorr biography fell through last Spring > when the publisher (the Library of American Landscape History) decided https://webmail.myfairpoint.net/mail/message.php?index=7808 2/15/2011 Page 2 of 4 > that--as a non-profit--they were unable to raise sufficient publication > expenses. I also think they had doubts about the marketability of the > book. When I sent out two dozen publication proposals after > Thanksgiving, the rejections thus far have centered on marketing. This > may be a ruse to avoid saying anything negative about my writing skill, > reader interest in the subject matter, or a host of other failings. > I've concentrated on the academic presses known for strong interest in > biography and environmental issues but also sent proposals to Beacon, > W.W. Norton, Random House, and some small presses from Maine to > California--avoiding those that required a literary agent. > > Being rejected by Yale came as no surprise but when Maine and the > University Press of New England said no, I then began to think more > seriously about self-publishing, perhaps availing myself of the > services at Amazon.com. A ghost editor critiqued it from cover-to-cover > as I was grinding out the chapters, and the editor at LALH streamlined > the first five chapters before our breakup. I KNOW that Mr. Dorr's > life is a compelling read, especially when situated against the > implications of unpublished archival documents about the lives of > Charles W. Eliot and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. I also know that there is > a market given the hundreds of thousands of MDI visitors who annually > browse through the few publications showcased at the ANP Visitor > Center, Jordan Pond House, Sherman Bookstore, etc. If you have any > editorial acquaintances who freelance and are partial to the coastal > Maine environment about which I'm writing, do let me know. Any > suggestions would be much appreciated (I've attached the proposal). > > Again, our very best wishes for you in the months ahead. > > > > Quoting McGiffert : >> Dear Ron, >> > So good to hear from you! Thanks for keeping in touch! >> I'm glad to hear that Elizabeth's therapy is going well. I, for my >> part, have recently started six months of chemotherapy to deal with the >> prostate cancer that surgery missed back in 1996 and has recently got >> active. >> > I'm glad to be able to add to your info about Wmsbg retirement >> communities. The town and environs are full of retired folk many of whom >> have come from your parts to the sunny south (our snowfall has been no >> more > > than a foot this winter). Windsor Meade is the most recent and is still > > filling. I checked it out personally a couple of years ago and can >> report >> that the main building is attractive and spacious (I didn't inspect the >> surrounding housing). I know one couple there; they like it very much. >> Even so, the place of primary choice, not just for me but for most, >> is >> the Williamsburg Landing, the oldest (quarter-century), by far the >> largest, >> and I think the best. I have a number of friends there; they all agree >> on >> the quality of experience, living arrangements, cuisine, support system, > > etc. I've never looked but suppose it has a website; you could check it >> out, and I'd be glad to try to answer questions. >> I strongly recommend Wmsbg for retiring. Hot summers, it's true, but >> minimal winters. First-rate university. Good public library. Historic >> sites/sights. Easy airport access. Train stop for the run between >> Boston >> and Norfolk. Good small local symphony. Excellent music nearby, headed >> by >> the Virginia Symphony. A week from tomorrow afternoon I'll be hearing a >> concert by the top-flight Virginia Chorale. Etc. >> Yes, do tell me about Dorr. >> All best to you both, https://webmail.myfairpoint.net/mail/message.php?index=7808 2/15/2011 Page 1 of 5 Re: Unrepentant Editors From "McGiffert" To Date 03/14/2011 09:57:47 AM Chemo goes as well, I suppose, as can be expected--thanks for asking! Have had three injections. The third was ten days ago. It takes about that long, at this stage, to recover energy enough to work. The course runs ten in all. Very sorry Wmsbg didn't pan out! It would have been good to have your company. Speaking as a former editor, I must say that I think yours is right about dissing the model but questionably wrong about transformational experiences. At least for CWE, who, I suppose, never had a transformational experience in his life and wouldn't have put any stock in it if he had. Correct me, please, if I misunderstand him. Possibly, just possibly, his early visits to MDI may stand in stead. All best, Mike Original Message From: To: "McGiffert" Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 9:09 AM Subject: Unrepentant Editors > > Hi Mike, > > How are doing with the chemo? You are in our thoughts. > I received the information on Williamsburg Landing and you were right, the > costs are comparable to WindorMeade. It appears that WindsorMeade might be > encountering occupancy problems since they knocked up to $125,000 off the > entrance fee for some of their models; the real worry in the long run is > the high monthly fees. I think we will look for something more affordable. > Your advise regarding the Dorr biography is welcome. I'm now doing a > "reframing" of the manuscript in light of a "nibble" that I received from > a university press editor. He made your point about the title (which is > now 'The Making of Acadia National Park') but went on to ask whether I > would be willing to resubmit a revised table of contents in light of a few > modifications. > To wit, abandon the strict adherence to the classical biographical model > ("He was born he drew his last breath") and begin the first chapters > with transformational experiences, weaving chronological biographical > detail throughout the manuscript as vignettes. Also, draw more attention > to the relationship between Dorr, Eliot, and JDR,Jr. As I would soon find > out, easier said than done! > > I spent several days weighing these and several other lesser points and > decided to give it a try. This does not involve a rewrite of the entire > manuscript (I've completed chapter one) since the content from the > inception of the Trustees in 1901 through 1944 pretty much conforms to his > model. The Cornell University Press editor has a doctorate in American > philosophy and his boss has taken special interest in this manuscript > since Acadia holds a fond place in his heart, so I am told. > Again, do keep in touch as your energy level permits. > All the Best, https://webmail.myfairpoint.net/mail/message.php?index=8293 3/14/2011 Page 1 of 2 Re: From Ron Epp From "McGiffert" To Date 02/12/2011 02:52:39 PM Dear Ron, So good to hear from you! Thanks for keeping in touch! I'm glad to hear that Elizabeth's therapy is going well. I, for my part, have recently started six months of chemotherapy to deal with the prostate cancer that surgery missed back in 1996 and has recently got active. I'm glad to be able to add to your info about Wmsbg retirement communities. The town and environs are full of retired folk many of whom have come from your parts to the sunny south (our snowfall has been no more than a foot this winter). Windsor Meade is the most recent and is still filling. I checked it out personally a couple of years ago and can report that the main building is attractive and spacious (I didn't inspect the surrounding housing). I know one couple there; they like it very much. Even so, the place of primary choice, not just for me but for most, is the Williamsburg Landing, the oldest (quarter-century), by far the largest, and think the best. I have a number of friends there; they all agree on the quality of experience, living arrangements, cuisine, support system, etc. I've never looked but suppose it has a website; you could check it out, and I'd be glad to try to answer questions. I strongly recommend Wmsbg for retiring. Hot summers, it's true, but minimal winters. First-rate university. Good public library. Historic sites/sights. Easy airport access. Train stop for the run between Boston and Norfolk. Good small local symphony. Excellent music nearby, headed by the Virginia Symphony. A week from tomorrow afternoon I'll be hearing a concert by the top-flight Virginia Chorale. Etc. Yes, do tell me about Dorr. All best to you both, Mike Original Message From: To: "=?utf-8?b??=' Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 8:04 PM Subject: From Ron Epp > > Dear Mike, > > Eighteen months have lapsed since we last communicated with one another. > My apologies for the neglect. I hope you have been well. After a decade of > retirement (I'm celebrating my fifth year), have you kept the scholarly > fires going? > > Your last email suggested that you might be relocating to a retirement > community. We have been in that frame of mind for the last nine months. > Yet another mortality threat prompted it. Elizabeth's annual mammogram > turned up a suspicious mass and over the course of several months she went > through two lumpectomies and finally a prophylactic mastectomy--the > recurrence of precancerous cells motivated this extreme solution. She is > doing well, now on hormone therapy. > > We've been visiting retirement, life care, and other assorted communities > from Maine to Pennsylvania at a most leisurely pace. Then last week I had > just finished Fosdick's masterful biography of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. https://webmail.myfairpoint.net/mail/message.php?index=7747 2/12/2011 Page 2 of 2 > with his chapter on the Williamsburg Restoration very much in my mind. > After finding on the Internet a place called Windsor-Meade of > Willkiamsburg, Elizabeth suggested that I contact you to catch up and > solicit suggestions that might help us decide whether it is worth a trip > later this Spring. > > Once I hear back from you, I'll fill you in on publication of the Dorr > biography. Yes, the manuscript is complete but there is much to tell that > would interest a retired editor. > > All the Best, > > Ron > > Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. > 47 Pondview Drive > Merrimack, NH 03054 > (603) 424-6149 > eppster2@myfairpoint.net > https://webmail.myfairpoint.net/mail/message.php?index=7747 2/12/2011 Page 1 of 2 Re: Dorr Biography & Ron Epp From "McGiffert" To Date Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:22:43 -0400 Original Message From: To: Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 4:25 PM Subject: Dorr Biography & Ron Epp Dear Ron, Dear, that is, in absentia, and, I fear, likely to remain so, at least this year. I envy you your time in Maine. I hope to get there for a week at least in October, as I did last year, but it's summer in Virginia for me. The place at Pretty Marsh, which is now being run, and run very well, by the next generation, is booked solid in July and August and into September. Expenses have been unusually heavy lately (70-year-old septic system replaced; much roadwork and treework, new ramp on the dock). So a lot of outside rental is needed. I shall be sorry not to be there. Sorry your winter was so rough; ours, happy to say, was mild with just a few flakes of snow. Not at all like the 40-inch winter we had a couple of decades ago--more snow that season than in Boston. Very glad to hear that Dorr is making headway. My own work trickles, or treacles, along. The end is in sight, but I'm not in a great hurry to get there because when I do I'll no longer have an excuse to stay where I am--in the house Genevieve and I bought twenty years ago--and will move to a facility. The facilities hereabouts are very good--Wmsbg is great retirement country--but I'm not eager to give up independence. If you two ever come this way, please count of B&B at 102 Old Glory Court. Till then, or whenever, All best, Mike > Dear Mike, > > Before my wife and I left to journey Downeast, I thought I'd drop you a > brief email. I wondered whether you might be on MDI or have plans to > journey there later this summer. We depart on the 23rd. > > Been a rough winter here with an lawful icestorm that drove us from our > home for the better part of a week, the March deaths of my wife's parents > within eight days of one another, and me trying to manage a chronic health > problem that for the most part is history. But I've made progress on the > Dorr biography and plan to send the first half of the manuscript off to my > editor within a week of our return from MDI on the 28th; the remainder > contractually due by the end of the year. > > How have you been? I hope that we might see one another again on MDI. > > All the Best, > > Ron > > Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. > 47 Pondview Drive > Merrimack, NH 03054 > (603) 424-6149 > eppster2@myfairpoint.net > > https://webmail.myfairpoint.net/hwebmail/mail/message.php?index=1122 6/22/2009 Verizon Yahoo! Mail - eppster2@verizon.net Page 1 of 3 Verizon Yahoo! Mail Verizon Central Yahoo! Search: Web Search Welcome, eppster2@verizon Mail Home All-New Mail Tutorials Help YAHOO! [Sign Out, Member Center verizon MAIL Classic Mail Contacts Calendar Notepad Mail For Mobile - Options Check Mail Compose Search Mail Search the Web Folders [Add Edit] Previous I Next I Back to Messages Inbox (3) Delete Reply Forward Move Draft This message is not flagged. [ Flag Message - Mark as Unread Printable View Sent Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:10:23 -0800 (PST) Bulk [Empty] "ELIZABETH and RONALD EPP" Add to Trash [Empty] From: Address Book Add Mobile Alert My Folders [Hide] Subject: The Eliot Family: from Ron Epp Eliz messages (2) To: "McGiffert" Horseshoe Pond Dear Mike, Member Information Ron Archives (26) I hope you are managing to weather the winter. How have you been feeling of late? Where have you been directing your energies this winter? Search Shortcuts Elizabeth and I are not doing that well with nearly eighty inches of snow thus My Photos far, many ice storms, and our fading hope that there will be green grass come spring under all this snow. My Attachments This morning I was to travel to Ipswich to return to your cousin Larry Eliot a lengthy taped 1975 interview with his father, C.W.I Eliot II which I had copied on CD at Southern NH University. But one of the CD's was flawed and so I returned to my recently acquired 222 pages of photocopied correspondence between C.W. Eliot and Mr. Dorr that I uncovered several months ago miscatalogued at the Pusey Library. Which brings me to my main point in writing. In a letter from President Eliot dated 24 July 1916, just three weeks after President Wilson signed the authorization establishing Sieur de Monts National Monument, he writes from Asticou to Dorr as follows: "When my grand-son Samuel A. Eliot, Jr.,11893-1984] who is living with his wife and baby at his father's house here, heard of your National Monument achievement, he wrote out his own experience on the Island, and with the help of information derived from some of his birding colleagues, the enclosed article which seems to have merit as a contribution to 'publicity' on the general subject. Would it fall into your general publicity plans to advise me where the article might advantageously be published? Samuel would like to earn a little money by it if possible." There is no record of a response from Dorr. I have not been able to establish that the article was ever published and I can't locate it in an archives. I wonder whether you were aware of the existence of Eliot's tribute to MDI which interests me because his grandfather's letter suggests that it was written from the perspective of his grandson's youth. Might any other family members have preserved such a document? From the Eliot family information I possess it appears that Samuel and Ethel had three children and that one of these was http://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=8223_6417027_123350_710_3400.. 2/16/2008 Verizon Yahoo! ail-eppster2@verizon.net Page 2 of 3 Patience who married Willard Crompton; several years ago a Cate Crompton who presently works as an engineer at Harvard introduced herself to me on the Bar Harbor Village Green, an Eliot descendant who may provide some insight. As I near completion of the rough draft of the Dorr biography, I not only uncover the treasure trove at the Pusey but just yesterday the historic resource manager at park HQ emailed me to ask whether I was aware that there were 12 boxes of unprocessed Acadia National Park documents from 1920-1950 recently uncovered at the Philadelphia branch of the National Archives. I had been told five years ago that this repository had nothing on Acadia and now I've got to see them to see if any are germane to my purposes. On the other hand, I want this massive project to be over while I still have enough functioning brain cells to make sense of it all! Sorry for the rant. I look forward to seeing you this summer on MDI. You'll recall that you said that there might be documents relative to the park boundary dispute at Pretty Marsh. Let me know as your travel plans develop and remember you are always welcome here in Merrimack. With best wishes, Ron Epp McGiffert wrote: Hello, Ron! It's very good to hear from you and get caught up a bit on your scholarly investigations. I won't mention the weather except to say that if you love the snow as you say you do you should stay where you are and give up any notion of heading south. Williamsburg has no snow, has not had any snow, and (I, for one, hope) will not have any, at least for Christmas. For myself, I had quite enough of the white stuff growing up in Chicago. It can happen here. I remember one winter maybe 20 years ago when we had 40"--more, indeed, than Boston that year, and quite enough to keep the snow bunnies happy for some time after. Glad to see you digging into the controversy over the park's boundary and wondering, just between us, what position you would have taken at the time. I wish I could add to your documentary haul, but whatever documents may survive are at Pretty Marsh and I won't be able to get at them till May or June. I dimly remember my father's being active on the subject, and it may be that papers survive from that activity, though I fear not many if any at all. I'm putting into my 2008 datebook a reminder to check. I'm sorry to have to tell you that I have no recollection at all of the business of the SAE memorial. Will check for that also. Thanks again for keeping in touch. Christmas greetings to you both. I hope our paths will cross again in the coming year. Mike Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 47 Pond View Drive http://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=8223_6417027_123350_710_3400 2/16/2008 Verizon Yahoo! Mail eppster2@verizon.net Page 1 of 3 Verizon Yahoo! Mail Verizon Central Yahoo! Search: Web Search Welcome, eppster2@verizon Mail Home Tutorials YAHOO! Help verizon [Sign Out, Member Center MAIL Mail Addresses Calendar Notepad Mail For Mobile - Options Check Mail Compose Search Mail Search the Web Folders [Add Edit] Previous Next I Back to Messages Inbox (5) Delete Reply Forward Move Draft This message is not flagged. [ Flag Message Mark as Unread Printable View Sent Date: Wed, 4 Jul 2007 11:51:09 -0700 (PDT) Bulk [Empty] From: "ELIZABETH and RONALD EPP" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Trash [Empty] Subject: Re: Names on the hills My Folders [Hide] To: "McGiffert" Eliz messages Member Information Dear Mike, Ron Archives (18) Elizabeth and I want to thank you for the lunch we shared last week in Southwest Harbor. We very much enjoyed meeting you and hope that it is not the last encounter. Search Shortcuts With only an email correspondence to pave the way, there is usually uncertainty about outcomes when one meets My Photos someone for the first time. It was clear to me almost immediately that we were kindred spirits and that conversational My Attachments awkwardness would not be an issue. Furthermore, you bear a striking striking resemblance to my godfather--my mother's brother Alfred--which made lunch all the more comfortable. Unfortunately, time did not permit us to discuss several issues regarding mountain naming that you raised in your most recent email. If it is possible, I would very much appreciate receiving a copy of the March 7, 1925 letter from William Sawtelle to S.A. Eliot. I checked my files this morning and find that it was not among the documents that I examined for my article. As I rework these materials for the Dorr biography, I would like to take it into account. Much of the Sawtelle local documentation has only recently been made accessible when it was relocated from Islesford to Park HQ two years ago; much of it remains unprocessed. I did uncover a letter from Lincoln Cromwell to Serenus Rodick dated September 11, 1930 where he offers the following assessment: "I feel very strongly that the new names for the mountains adopted by the government, and used on the current government maps, should not be abandoned in the local use I have heard very little objection to the new hhttp://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=5069_2700640_114038_700_3534_0_7541_11579_1970068860&Idx=0.7/4/2007 Verizon Yahoo! Mail eppster2@verizon.net Page 2 of 3 names except from a small group which has consistently opposed all of the Rockefeller developments The old names had no meaning, and the new names are expressive of the history of the Island, and would soon become familiar and universally used if they were used in all the publications of the park, and in the local press." Regarding your other questions, opposition to the renaming was not exclusively from the local population. The summer colony did take sides according to data published in the Bar Harbor Time; I can send you photocopies if you like. I agree that "more could be done with this kind of subject" but right now I have to remain centered on completing the Dorr biography. My time spent in the Park Archives were productive and I thought you might be interested to know that I uncovered several Charles W. Eliot II letters from 1985-86 detailing his reasons for opposing S. 720 establishing a permanent boundary for Acadia National Park. While this concern is far removed from Dorr's life story, CWE II focuses much attention on the historical fact that these properties were acquired by the Trustees "in Trust in Perpetuity" whereas the bill aims to delete parcels that interfere with the administration of the park (that is, in Eliot's view, "isolated" parcels that complicate park management). Eliot champions the arguments of both Dorr and his grandfather that it is imperative to conserve-indeed expand-- "entire natural units." In my view it is unfortunate that his arguments did not carry the day. I hope your time on MDI lived up to your expectations. If your visits are to be less frequent do let me know if there is anything I can do when I visit MDI to help you keep the place close to your heart. With best wishes, Ron McGiffert wrote: Dear Ron, Leafing through photocopies of some old papers this afternoon, I came upon a letter from Wm. Sawtelle to S. A. Eliot, dated March 7, 1925, relating to the republication of Street's Mount Desert. Eliot had asked Sawtelle for an updated bibliography and general guidance. Sawtelle replies--with his engaging easy-speaking geniality- -that he is writing an article for Sprague's Journal on MD from Champlain to Bernard (surely you know of it). Perhaps the following sentences from his letter will amuse you. Referring to the article, he says: "It is rank propaganda, stressing the historical significance of the names of some of our mountains Champlain, Saint Sauveur, Mansell, Acadia, Cadillac, and Bernard. I trust that it will result in silencing the Green-Dog-Robinson bunch who do not hesitate to say that they see no rhyme or reason in the 'new names." Well, one man's propaganda is another man's reason. Good stuff either way. Curiosity prompts a question: Were the "bunch" mainly local? Did the interested summer colony take sides in any number? I suppose one needn't ask whether with any effect. The politics, the sociology, of http://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=5069_2700640_114038_700_3534_0_7541_11579_1970068860&Idx=0... 7/4/2007 Verizon Yahoo! Mail - eppster2@verizon.net Page 3 of 3 nomenclature is always interesting, isn't it? Could more be done with this kind of subject than you could accomplish in your good but short piece?--for which my thanks. I suppose I have the Eliot-Street material from Bob Pyle, or my father did. I'll try to check with Bob when there--wonderfully soon! All best, Mike Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 47 Pond View Drive Merrimack, NH 03054 (603) 424-6149 eppster2@verizon.net Delete Reply Forward Move Previous I Next Back to Messages Save Message Text I Full Headers Check Mail Compose Search Mail Search the Web Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. I Copyright/IP Policy I Terms of Service I Send Feedback | Help NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy. verizon YAHOO! http://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=5069_2700640_114038_700_3534_0_7541_11579_1970068860&Idx=0... 7/4/2007 Verizon Yahoo! Mail - eppster2@verizon.net Page 1 of 2 Verizon Yahoo! Mail Verizon Central Yahoo! Search: Web Search Welcome, eppster2@verizon YAHOO! Mail Home Tutorials Help verizon [Sign Out, Member Center MAIL Mail Addresses Calendar Notepad Mail For Mobile - Options Check Mail Compose Search Mail Search the Web Folders [Add Edit] Previous Next I Back to Messages Inbox (5) Delete Reply Forward Spam Move Draft This message is not flagged. [ Flag Message Mark as Unread Printable View Sent Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 17:43:44-0400 Bulk [Empty] From: "McGiffert" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Trash [Empty] Subject: Names on the hills My Folders [Hide] To: "ELIZABETH and RONALD EPP" Eliz messages Member Information Dear Ron, Leafing through photocopies of some old papers this afternoon, I came upon a letter from Wm. Sawtelle to S.A. Eliot, Ron Archives (18) dated March 7, 1925, relating to the republication of Street's Mount Desert. Eliot had asked Sawtelle for an updated bibliography and general guidance. Sawtelle replies--with his engaging easy-speaking geniality--that he is writing an Search Shortcuts article for Sprague's Journal on MD from Champlain to Bernard (surely you know of it). Perhaps the following sentences from his letter will amuse you. My Photos Referring to the article, he says: "It is rank propaganda, stressing the historical significance of the names of some of My Attachments our mountains - Champlain, Saint Sauveur, Mansell, Acadia, Cadillac, and Bernard. I trust that it will result in silencing the Green-Dog-Robinson bunch who do not hesitate to say that they see no rhyme or reason in the 'new names." Well, one man's propaganda is anotherman's reason. Good stuff either way. Curiosity prompts a question: Were the "bunch" mainly local? Did the interested summer colony take sides in any number? I suppose one needn't ask whether with any effect. The politics, the sociology, of nomenclature is always interesting, isn't it? Could more be done with this kind of subject than you could accomplish in your good but short piece?- which my thanks. I suppose I have the Eliot-Street material from Bob Pyle, or my father did. I'll try to check with Bob when there-- wonderfully soon! All best, Mike Delete Reply Forward Spam Move. http://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=3718 0_16824_1788_1647_0_72854276_3672252014_oSObkYn4Ur5H...7/4/2007 Verizon Yahoo! Mail - eppster2@verizon.net Page 1 of 4 Verizon Yahoo! Mail Verizon Central Yahoo! Search: Web Search Welcome, eppster2@verizon Mail Home Tutorials YAHOO! Help verizon [Sign Out, Member Center MAIL Mail Addresses Calendar Notepad Mail For Mobile - Options Check Mail Compose Search Mail Search the Web Folders [Add Edit] Previous Next I Back to Messages Inbox (5) Delete Reply Forward Spam Move Draft This message is not flagged. [ Flag Message - Mark as Unread Printable View Sent Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2007 19:02:08 -0400 Bulk [Empty] From: "McGiffert" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert Trash [Empty] Subject: Re: A Boy In Summer (Again) My Folders [Hide] To: "ELIZABETH and RONALD EPP" Eliz messages Member Information Ron Archives (18) Original Message From: ELIZABETH and RONALD EPP Search Shortcuts To: McGiffert My Photos Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 4:43 PM Subject: Re: A Boy In Summer (Again) My Attachments Thanks, Ron -- for your message and article both. The latter is printing out as I type. I would be delighted to have a meal with the two of you, your time and mine permitting. I expect to arrive on the 24th. You have my number, but I'll try to reach you to make a date. Thanks for the good thought! Mike Dear Mike, If you are up to getting together -perhaps sharing lunch or dinner-- with the Epps while all three of us are on MDI, my wife and I would be delighted at the prospects. I'll try and reach at the number you provided. We will be staying at the Atlantic Eyrie (288-9786) in Bar Harbor from the 23rd to the 28th. http://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=6360_6006441_65322_1873_4800_0_7236_14851_1216196544&Idx=1..69/2007 rizon Yahoo! Mail-eppster2@verizon.net Page 2 of 4 I've attached a copy of an article that I wrote two years ago that I thought might be of special interest to you. As you were maturing in Pretty Marsh you may have been privy to the ongoing controversy regarding Dorr's liberality in renaming MDI geographic features. Even today, one still hears of partiality to the the names of a generation that predated Mr. Dorr. I completed this piece a few months after Charlotte published my article on "Garden Approaches to Acadia National Park." Wishing you the very best as you now try to learn the "art and craft of single living." With best wishes, Ron McGiffert wrote: Original Message From: ELIZABETH and RONALD EPP To: mcgiff@widomaker.com Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 10:21 AM Subject: A Boy In Summer Dear Ron, I'm glad you liked the Chebacco piece. Thank you for telling me. It was mostly written back in 1990 and then put by. One of my nieces remarked that she didn't see how anyone could remember so much stuff! Lawrence Eliot is, I take it, my cousin Larry, son of CWE II, who was a human archive of Eliotiana. I'm not surprised the material is voluminous; I hope it's as useful as it is large. The scrapbook you mention is news to me. Well, the Spirit of Acadia had a good run, and it was a good thing to do! I envy you your work on Dorr--a great subject and a demanding one, and there are precious few people in the world--perhaps no more than one--who could handle it! How am I? Well, I'm learning something I didn't expect to have to learn quite yet--namely, the art and craft of single living. My wife, Genevieve, died in mid-March, age 80. It wasn't exactly sudden, but still we were surprised; at least I was. Coping is mostlly what I'm doing. And looking forward to a couple of weeks at Pretty Marsh in late June and early July. How about getting together? You can reach me at 244-3661 on and after June 25. All best, Mike b://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=6360_6006441_65322_1873_4800_0_7236_14851_1216196544&Idx=1.6/9/2007 zon Yahoo! Mail-eppster2@verizon.net Page 3 of 4 Dear Mike, I found your article in the most recent issue of Chebacco to be most helpful in improving my understanding of the the lure of Pretty Marsh in the 1930's. It was a joy to read, especially since it concerned itself with the well-described daily comings and goings of your family within an island community that I've been much preoccupied with since 2000. I retired from library administration February 2006 and since then have been writing the biography of Mr. Dorr. You may be interested in knowing that the Charles Eliot, Charles W. Eliot, Samuel A. Eliot, and Charles W. Eliot II are all treated therein. In tracking down loose ends, I've recently been given the opportunity to examine the Charles W. Eliot Papers gifted several years ago by Lawrence Eliot to the Trustees of Reservations Archives. I'm about halfway through this unprocessed collection which relates primarily to CWE II's role as a Trustee. I wondered whether you were aware that included in this gift is a scrapbook of carefully pasted news clippings and preservation summary reports put together by Charles Eliot and covering the period 1890-1896. Nowhere in the published literature is there any reference to its existence. The Spirit of Acadia Committee has spent its energies. Too few of us were able to devote the time to keep its core issues before the attention of the public. Its last hurrah was last August when several of us participated in a celebration of the Antiquities Act and the re-dedication of a renovated Sieur de Monts. I've been trying to arose interest in the 75th anniversary of the completion this July of the Cadillac Mountain Summit Road but have not been successful with the NPS staff or the Friends of Acadia. I've got more than a full plate with the Dorr biography. Off to Bar Harbor for six days in the last week in June. Hope your health is fine and that you manage once again to get to MDI. Cordially, Ron Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 47 Pond View Drive Merrimack, NH 03054 (603) 424-6149 eppster2@verizon.net ://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=6360_6006441_65322_1873_4800_0_7236_14851_1216196544&Idx=1...6/9/2007 Verizon Yahoo! Mail - eppster2@verizon.net Page 1 of 2 Verizon Yahoo! Mail Verizon Central Yahoo! Search: Web Search Welcome, eppster2@verizon Mail Home Tutorials Help YAHOO! verizon [Sign Out, Member Center MAIL Mail Addresses Calendar Notepad Mail For Mobile - Options Check Mail Compose Search Mail Search the Web Folders [Add Edit] Previous | Next I Back to Messages Inbox (9) Delete Reply Forward Spam Move Draft This message is not flagged. [ Flag Message - Mark as Unread ] Printable View Sent Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 16:48:28 -0400 Bulk [Empty] "McGiffert" Add to Address Book Add Trash [Empty] From: Mobile Alert My Folders [Hide] Subject: Re: A Boy In Summer Eliz messages To: "ELIZABETH and RONALD EPP" Member Information Ron Archives (18) Original Message Search Shortcuts From: ELIZABETH and RONALD EPP To: mcgiff@widomaker.com My Photos Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 10:21 AM My Attachments Subject: A Boy In Summer Dear Ron, I'm glad you liked the Chebacco piece. Thank you for telling me. It was mostly written back in 1990 and then put by. One of my nieces remarked that she didn't see how anyone could remember so much stuff! Lawrence Eliot is, I take it, my cousin Larry, son of CWE II, who was a human archive of Eliotiana. I'm not surprised the material is voluminous; I hope it's as useful as it is large. The scrapbook you mention is news to me. Well, the Spirit of Acadia had a good run, and it was a good thing to do! I envy you your work on Dorr--a great subject and a demanding one, and there are precious few people in the world--perhaps no more than one--who could handle it! How am I? Well, I'm learning something I didn't expect to have to learn quite yet--namely, the art and craft of single living. My wife, Genevieve, died in mid-March, age 80. It wasn't exactly sudden, but still we were surprised; at least I was. Coping is mostlly what I'm doing. And looking forward to a couple of weeks at Pretty Marsh in late June and early July. How about getting together? You can reach me at 244-3661 on and after June 25. All best, Mike Dear Mike, I found your article in the most recent issue of Chebacco to be most helpful in improving my understanding of the the lure of Pretty Marsh in the 1930's. It was a joy to read, especially since it concerned itself with the well-described daily comings and goings of your family within an island community that I've http://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=7116_5170637_76605_1805_3434... 5/31/2007 Verizon Yahoo! Mail - eppster2@verizon.net Page 2 of 2 been much preoccupied with since 2000. I retired from library administration February 2006 and since then have been writing the biography of Mr. Dorr. You may be interested in knowing that the Charles Eliot, Charles W. Eliot, Samuel A. Eliot, and Charles W. Eliot II are all treated therein. In tracking down loose ends, I've recently been given the opportunity to examine the Charles W. Eliot Papers gifted several years ago by Lawrence Eliot to the Trustees of Reservations Archives. I'm about halfway through this unprocessed collection which relates primarily to CWE II's role as a Trustee. I wondered whether you were aware that included in this gift is a scrapbook of carefully pasted news clippings and preservation summary reports put together by Charles Eliot and covering the period 1890- 1896. Nowhere in the published literature is there any reference to its existence. The Spirit of Acadia Committee has spent its energies. Too few of us were able to devote the time to keep its core issues before the attention of the public. Its last hurrah was last August when several of us participated in a celebration of the Antiquities Act and the re-dedication of a renovated Sieur de Monts. I've been trying to arose interest in the 75th anniversary of the completion this July of the Cadillac Mountain Summit Road but have not been successful with the NPS staff or the Friends of Acadia. I've got more than a full plate with the Dorr biography. Off to Bar Harbor for six days in the last week in June. Hope your health is fine and that you manage once again to get to MDI. Cordially, Ron Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 47 Pond View Drive Merrimack, NH 03054 (603) 424-6149 eppster2@verizon.net Delete Reply Forward Spam Move Previous Next I Back to Messages Save Message Text Full Headers Check Mail Compose Search Mail Search the Web Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. | Copyright/IP Policy Terms of Service | Send Feedback Help NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy. verizon YAHOO! http://us.f842.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=7116_5170637_76605_1805_3434. 5/31/2007 Message Page 1 of 2 Epp, Ronald From: McGiffert [mcgiff@widomaker.com] Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2005 5:32 PM To: Epp, Ronald Subject: Re: Spirit of Acadia Minutes 6.07.05 Original Message From: Epp, Ronald To: McGiffert Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 9:40 AM Subject: RE: Spirit of Acadia Minutes 6.07.05 Dear Ron, I was so pleased to see the W (twice) on p. C3 of the June 23 BHT, which got here today (July 2. It can only have been your doing! Looks good. Many thanks. Mike Dear Mike, Thanks for the suggestion. We will do our best to honor it. As an aside, our library recently acquired "The Historical New York Times" which is a database of all the content from the Times from 1851-2003 and "The Boston Globe Online" which covers the more limited timeframe of 1871-1901. Both contain powerful search engines that enabled me to pull up and print all the content on Chales W. Eliot and his son. Fascinating reading. With best wishes, Ron Original Message From: McGiffert [mailto:mcgiff@widomaker.com] Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2005 5:26 PM To: Epp, Ronald Cc: judith goldstein Subject: Re: Spirit of Acadia Minutes 6.07.05 Original Message From: Epp, Ronald To: t.vining ; c.gilder ; e.foulds ; e.shettleworth ; f.epstein ; h.raup ; j.goldstein ; j.moreira ; k.coulter ; l.vanderbergh ; m.c.brown ; m.mcgiffert ; repp ; r.gillis ; s.shumaker ; t.butler Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2005 11:12 AM Subject: Spirit of Acadia Minutes 6.07.05 Dear Ron and Judy, Thanks, Ron, for the continuing reports on the summer program. It looks like a wonderful spread of good and timely occasions. Congratulations to you and the committee for so much good work! 7/6/2005 Message Page 1 of 2 Epp, Ronald From: McGiffert [mcgiff@widomaker.com] Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 2:06 PM To: Epp, Ronald Subject: Re: Spirit of Acadia Minutes 6.07.05 Original Message From: Epp, Ronald To: McGiffert Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 9:40 AM Subject: RE: Spirit of Acadia Minutes 6.07.05 Thanks, Ron. I look forward to seeing you in late July or early August. Mike Dear Mike, Thanks for the suggestion. We will do our best to honor it. As an aside, our library recently acquired "The Historical New York Times" which is a database of all the content from the Times from 1851-2003 and "The Boston Globe Online" which covers the more limited timeframe of 1871-1901. Both contain powerful search engines that enabled me to pull up and print all the content on Chales W. Eliot and his son. Fascinating reading. With best wishes, Ron Original Message From: McGiffert [mailto:mcgiff@widomaker.com] Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2005 5:26 PM To: Epp, Ronald Cc: judith goldstein Subject: Re: Spirit of Acadia Minutes 6.07.05 Original Message From: Epp, Ronald To: t.vining ; c.gilder ; e.foulds ; e.shettleworth ; f.epstein ; h.raup ; j.goldstein ; j.moreira ; k.coulter ; l.vanderbergh ; m.c.brown ; m.mcgiffert ; repp ; r.gillis ; s.shumaker ; t.butler Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2005 11:12 AM Subject: Spirit of Acadia Minutes 6.07.05 Dear Ron and Judy, Thanks, Ron, for the continuing reports on the summer program. It looks like a wonderful spread of good and timely occasions. Congratulations to you and the committee for so much good work! A suggestion, if I may. I know of course that it's become fashionable to drop the middle names or initials of persons past and present. I do hope, though, as a direct descendant of Charles William Eliot, 6/16/2005 Message Page 2 of 2 that his name won't be shrunk to Charles Eliot. That is not how he used or wanted to be known. He always maintained the middle name or initial, partly no doubt for common form's sake but still more, he used to say, to distinguish between himself and his son Charles Eliot (NMI), the landscape architect and planner whose work in Massachusetts set the template for the Hancock County Trustees for Public Reservations. I think CWE (family short form) would be quite satisfied with a simple W. My best to you both, Mike (NMI) McGiffert Greetings, Attached are the Minutes from the June 7th Spirit of Acadia Committee meeting and a current Calendar of Events. Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. Director of University Library & Associate Professor of Philosophy Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH 03106 603-668-2211 ext. 2164 603-645-9685 (fax) 6/16/2005 Message Page 1 of 1 Epp, Ronald From: McGiffert [mcgiff@widomaker.com] Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 6:39 PM To: Epp, Ronald Subject: Re: Spirit of Acadia Minutes 3.1.05 Original Message From: Epp, Ronald To: t.vining ; c.gilder ; e.foulds ; e.shettleworth ; f.epstein ; h.raup ; j.goldstein ; j.moreira ; k.coulter ; l.vanderbergh ; m.c.brown ; m.mcgiffert ; r.epp ; r.gillis ; s.shumaker Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 9:03 AM Subject: Spirit of Acadia Minutes 3.1.05 Thanks for keeping in touch with an auslaender. If the group is meeting during July or early August, when I expect to be at Pretty Marsh, I would hope to be able to attend. Meanwhile, keep up the great work! Mike McGiffert Attached are the Minutes from the March 1, 2005 Spirit of Acadia Meeting. Your comments would be appreciated. Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. Director of Shapiro Library Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH 03106 603-668-2211, ext. 2164 603-645-9685 fax 3/15/2005 Page 1 of 3 Ronald Epp From: "MDI Historical Society" To: "Ronald Epp" Sent: Monday, December 16, 2002 7:26 AM Subject: Re: Mr. Dorr & MDI Research Collections I'm not surprised that Bob has not responded to your letter. He is SO busy. Overwhelmed at times. Here is Mike McGiffert's address: 102 Old Glory Court Williamsburg, VA 23185 I don't seem to have his phone number handy. I'm sure you could find it in the internet white pages. I communicate with him through e-mail, SO don't often talk with him on the phone unless he is in town. I believe I gave you his e-mail, but if not: mcgiff@widowmaker.com Good Luck and happy holidays. Jaylene on 12/13/02 3:36 PM, Ronald Epp at r.epp@snhu.edu wrote: Dear Jaylene, I've done some research on Michael McGiffert prior to contacting him as per your suggestion. I was quite surprised by the level of praiseworthy remarks that were offered in the W&M Quarterly on the occasion of his resignation of the editorship. What I lack is an address and phone number where I can reach this "unofficial chair" of the History Journal editorial board. Can you provide? Regarding another Board member, I sent Bob Pyle a letter on November 20th that has thus far gone unanswered following up on some lines of inquiry that we pursued in your office that afternoon. I hope this proves fruitful. I'll be contacting Catherine Barrett, John Bryan, and Lydia Vandenbergh shortly. Wishing you the very best Seasons Greetings!! Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. Director of the Harry & Gertrude Shapiro Library Southern New Hampshire University 2500 North River Road Manchester, NH 03106-1045 12/17/2002 Page 1 of 1 Ronald Epp From: "Mike/Gen McGiffert" To: "Ronald Epp" Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 9:02 AM Subject: Re: MDI Historical Society Original Message From: Ronald Epp To: mcgiff@widowmaker.com Cc: Ronald Epp Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 11:03 AM Subject: MDI Historical Society Dear Mr. Epp, I remember hearing good things from Jaylene about your work on Dorr; I've liked what I've seen in the Friends of Acadia mag; and I would be glad to see more in any form you may please. As you say, the future of the journal is dicey just now (it's a matter of money and, more, a matter of finding an able editor who will stay on board for more than one issue and really take hold), but there's every reason to expect that it has a future. May I beg to offer one suggestion, I hope not out of line? The Eliot who helped found the park (my great- grandfather) always preferred to be known as Charles W. or Charles William, not just plain vanilla Charles, which was (as of course you know) his son's name. He wished to keep the nomenclature clear. Middle initials are out nowadays, we know (except perhaps for W and, I see, for H), but a distinction should perhaps be made, initial-wise, between the father and the son. Cordially, Mike McGiffert Dear Mr. Giffert, Recently I met with Jaylene Roths regarding research about MDI that I have been engaged in for the last several years. I am preparing an intellectual biography of George Bucknam Dorr (1853-1944), founder with Charles Eliot of the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations and principle agent for the amassment of properties that would eventually become Acadia National Park. I've made use of the relevant documentation at the MDI historical societies, MDI libraries, Abbe Museum, ANP Archives as well as manuscript collections at the National Archives and the Rockefeller Archive Center, among others. Two of my articles recently appeared in the Friends of Acadia Journal. As a member of the Society I've enjoyed articles published in the History Journal and discussed with Jaylene several aspects of my research that might be suitable as a proposal for a future issue of the Journal. She acquainted me with some of the uncertainties regarding the Journal and suggested that I contact you. If you would be interested in a having me prepare several topical characterizations to see if any of these would be of interest to you, let me know. Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. Director of the Harry & Gertrude Shapiro Library Southern New Hampshire University 2500 North River Road land Manchester, NH 03106-1045 603-668-2211, ext. 2164 603-645-9685 (fax) Peak o player at you i affect fatter in 2/4/2003 MCGIFFERT, ARTHUR CUSHMAN Page 1 of 2 THE 100 ENCYCLOPEDIA A C D E G K L STUVWXYZ Browse the encycle volumes to the left. MCGIFFERT, ARTHUR CUSHMAN MCGIFFERT, ARTHUR CUSHMAN (1861-), American theologian, YOUR HISTORI was born in Sauquoit, New York, on the 4th of March 1861, the son of a ACCURATE Fi Presbyterian clergyman of Scotch descent. He graduated at Western Reserve College in 1882 and at Union theological seminary in 1885, COAT ! studied in Germany (especially under Harnack) in 1885-1887, and in Italy ARM: and France in 1888, and in that year received the degree of doctor of philosophy at Marburg. He was instructor (1888-1890) and professor (1890- 1893) of church history at Lane theological seminary, and in FREE SEA 1893 became Washburn professor of church history in Union theological seminary, succeeding Dr Philip Schaff. His published work, except occasional critical studies in philosophy, dealt with church history and the Enter Last Na history of dogma. His best known publication is a History of search C'/zristianity in 1/fe Apostolic Age (1897). This book, by its independent criticism and departures from traditionalism, aroused the opposition of YOUR C the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church; though the charges brought against McGiffert were dismissed by the Presbytery of New York, to which they had been referred, a trial for heresy seemed inevitable, and McGiffert, in 1900, retired from the Presbyterian ministry and entered the Congregational Church, although he retained his position in Union theological seminary. Among his other publications are: A Dialogue between a Christian and a Jew (1888); a translation (with introduction and notes) of Eusebius's Church History (1890); and The Apostles' Creed (1902), in which he attempted to prove that the old Roman creed was formulated as a protest against the dualism of Marcion and his denial of 'the reality of Jesus's life on earth. History of McGILLIVRAY, ALEXANDER (c. 1739-1793), American Indian YOUR last n chief, was born near the site of the present Wetumpka, in Alabama. His father was a Scotch merchant and his mother the daughter' of a French officer and an Indian "princess." Through his father's relatives in. South Carolina, McGillivray received a good education, but at the age of You May Be seventeen, after a short experience as a merchant in Savannah and Unclaimed I Pensacola, he returned to the Muscogee Indians, who elected him chief. He retained his connexion with business life as a member of the British To Find C http://55.1911encyclopedia.org/M/MC/MCGIFFERT_ARTHUR_CUSHMAN.htm 2/25/2003 MCGIFFERT, ARTHUR CUSHMAN Page 2 of 2 01 ramon, rolues a Lesne 01 rensacola. During me wal 01 Einter 10 Independence, as a colonel in the British army, he incited his followers to Last Name attack the western frontiers of Georgia and the Carolinas. Georgia confiscated some of his property, and after the peace of 1783 SEARCH McGillivray remained hostile. Though still retaining his British commission, he accepted one from Spain, and during the remainder of his life used his influence to prevent American settlement in the south-west. So important was he considered that in 1790 President Washington sent an agent who induced him to visit New York. Here he was persuaded to make peace in consideration of a brigadier-general's 'commission and payment for the property confiscated by Georgia; and with the warriors who accompanied him he signed a formal treaty of peace and friendship on the 7th of August., He then went back to the Indian country, and remained hostile to the Americans until his death. He was one of the ablest Indian leaders of America and at one time wielded great power- having 5000 to jo,000 armed followers. In order to serve Indian interests he played off British, Spanish and American interests against one another, but before he died he saw that he was fighting in a losing cause, and, changing his policy, endeavoured to provide' for the training of the Muscogees in the white man's civilization. McGillivray was polished in manners, of cultivated intellect, was a shrewd merchant, and a successful speculator; but he had many savage traits, being noted for his treachery, craftiness and love of barbaric display. (W. L. F.) MACGILLIVRAY, WILLIAM (1796-1852), Scottish naturalist, was born at Aberdeen on the 25th of January 1796. At King's College, Aberdeen, he graduated in 1815, and also studied medicine, but did not complete the latter course. In 1823 he became assistant to R. Jameson, professor of natural history in Edinburgh University; and in I 831 he, was appointed curator of the museum o~ the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, a, post DISCLAIMER: PLEASE READ - By printing, downloading, or using you agree to our full terms. Review the full terms by clicking here. Below is a summary of some of the terms. If you do not agree to the full terms, do not use the information. Since this information is from 1911 it is outdated and contains many OCR errors (typos). It is for research purposes only. The information is "AS IS", "WITH ALL FAULTS". User assumes all risk of use, damage, or injury. You agree that we have no liability for any damages. We are not liable for any consequential, incidental, indirect, or special damages. You indemnify us for claims caused by you. This site and its contents are © 2002 by PageWise, Inc. http://55.1911encyclopedia.org/M/MC/MCGIFFERT_ARTHUR_CUSHMAN.htm 2/25/2003 JSTOR: William and Mary Quarterly: 3rd Ser., Vol. 54. No. 2. p. [290] Page 1 of 2 SEARCH I BROWSE week TIPS AND SET PREFERENCES MAN ABOUT ISTOR AND CON PRINT DOWNLOAD CITATION/STABLE URL TABLE OF CONTENTS SEARCH RESULTS Your acc STOR Souther EXIT JSTOR At least one of your search term(s) appear on one or more of the following pages: [283] I [284] I [285] 286 287 [288] [289] 292 [293] | 294 295 | [298] [300] [302] [305] 306 Previous Item In Journal Previous Page p. [290] of 283-306 (8th of 24 pages) Next Page Next Item In Journal Jump to Another Page of This Article Force Editing Early America MichaelMcgiffect and the Wm-+llary Quarterly V2-54(1997): 1997-1997. 286-306. On Mike McGiffert To become editor of what was already the most distinguished historical journal in the United States must have been a daunting task for Mike McGiffert. The William and Mary Quarterly had arrived at its position by ruthless use of both the rejection slip and the blue pencil. Bill Towner used to boast of Sam Morison's remark that Bill was the only editor who had ever dared to suggest changes in his writing. Morison, a true professional, accepted most of the changes as improvements and clarifications. But a large proportion of the submissions to the Quarterly are from beginners, who characteristically regard their every word as precious and editors as insensi- tive, ignorant boors. Those who have submitted their work to Mike McGiffert have had occasion, not always immediately recognized, to learn how much a good edi- tor can do for them. Mike has sustained not only the Quarterly's pursuit of excellence but also its tradition of teaching young scholars what their men- tors in graduate school have too often failed to impart-the importance of saying what you have to say clearly and succinctly. Rejection slips from the Quarterly are not one-liners printed in quantity. A letter of rejection from Mike is a careful analysis of the paper, of what is wrong with it, and often of how it could be made right. Mike's rejections can be as valuable to the author in the long run as an acceptance. And his letters of acceptance can often sound almost like a rejection, so full of suggestions for sharpening, pruning, and expanding I happen to know more than most people about those letters and Mike's practices as an editor because of membership on a commitree to review them, a review prompted I believe by complaints from disgruntled recipients of his rejections. The committee polled a large number of such recipients as http://www.jstor.org/view/00435597/di982534/98p04972/7?currentResult=004... /01cc9933410050adle0e&d 12/2/2002 JSTOR: William and Mary Quarterly: 3rd Ser., Vol. 54. No. 2. p. [290] Page 2 of 2 well as most who nau naa their articles accepted, and we saw many of his letters of both kinds. It was an experience that left us with a profound sense of how much this man has done TO educate early American historians. Anyone who matters in the field in the past twenty-five years has submitted articles to the Quarterly. and most of them have profited from the thoughtful reactions and suggestions of its editor, from his rejections as well as his acceptances. What perhaps few recognize is how widely his influence has affected the profession, how many of their colleagues have benefited from it. It is not merely the Quarterly that has benefited but the entire field of early American history, which remains in most ways the liveliest area of American historical scholarship. For that eminence, Mike McGiffert bears a large share of responsibility. EDMUND S. MORGAN Previous Item In Journal Previous Page p. [290] of 283-306 (8th of 24 pages) Next Page Next Item In Journal Jump to Another Page of This Article Forum: Editing Early America: Michael McGiffert and the William and Mary Quarterly, 1972-1997 William and Mary Quarterly (C) 1997 Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture ©2000-2002 JSTOR PRINT DOWNLOAD CITATION/STABLE URL TABLE OF CONTENTS SEARCH RESULTS JSTOR HOME SEARCH BROWSE I I TIPS SET PREFERENCES I ABOUT JSTOR CONTACT JSTOR TERMS & CONDITIONS ] http://www.jstor.org/view/00435597/di982534/98p04972/7?currentResult=004.../01cc9933410050adle0e&dpi= 12/2/2002 A BOY IN SUMMER PRETTY MARSH, THE 1930'S Michael McGiffert Summer has meant Maine to me since I first became aware of seasons and places. And Maine has meant Mount Desert Island and, particularly, Pretty Marsh, for all or part of nearly every summer of my almost eighty years has been spent at that dear place on the island's west- ern shore where, in 1930, Father and Mother bought from Mr. Allen Freeman fourteen-plus acres on the northwest side of Pretty Marsh Har- bor. The property was spruce woods and fields, and on the water side a splendid stand of tall young oaks. Undergrowth there had been kept down by Mr. Freeman's sheep. The most prominent oak was an ancient dead one that held up gaunt arms on the edge of the bank above the rocky beach. I seem to recall Mr. Freeman, then in his seventies, saying that the Old Oak had begun to die when his father was a boy, but that may be a slip on my part or a stretch on his. Crows produced sunrise concerts on the remaining branches of that gray relic. Some fifty yards up from the shore and backing against the woods, Father and Mother built a house - two-storied, gray-shingled, blue- shuttered, white-trimmed, not looking very large but with seven rooms: living room with a big fireplace (made by Mr. James Crockett, a veteran mason), combination kitchen and dining room, four bedrooms, two bathrooms each with a tub, a large attic, and a cold cellar. At the front door they planted lilacs; a slab of gray granite, hauled by horse from a long-abandoned farmhouse on West Point, made a noble doorstep. I say my parents built the house, but in fact Mr. Freeman did it with his sons and local men, working to their design. They also put up a detached shed for the well pump; wood for the kitchen stove was kept there: bringing in the small logs was one of the children's daily chores. We carried them in a pile, as many as we could hold on two bent arms, taking care to place a smooth birch log at the bottom of the pile, where elbows creased, and not a scratchy spruce one. We sang out, "Open the 23-41. MOTHS 2027. Mogiffert. Michael (Ed.) Contents vii Puritanism and then 9. The Glory Departing from New England 92 INCREASE MATHER Reading MA : Addizon-wesley. 1969. 10. Errand into the Wilderness 96 PERRY MILLER Bax, 11. The Puritans: From Providence to Pride 105 Contents DANIEL J. BOORSTIN TIME B. God Profit: "horrible Snares and infinite Sins" 12. The Case of Robert Keayne 114 JOHN WINTHROP iii 13. Last Will and Testament 117 Preface ROBERT KEAYNE INTRODUCTORY ESSAY 14. A Christian at His Calling 122 COTTON MATHER 1. The Puritan Strain 3 15. The Protestant Ethic 128 RICHARD SCHLATTER PERRY MILLER PART ONE: THE PURITAN VISION: "A CITTY UPON A HILL" 16. Ungodly Puritans 142 Introduction 23 HERBERT W. SCHNEIDER 27 (: 2. A Modell of Christian Charity God Land: "the Almost only Garden" JOHN WINTHROP 17. Planting this Wilderness 155 3. A Willing and Voluntary Subjection 33 EDWARD JOHNSON PETER BULKELEY 18. The Places of Their Acquaintance 159 4. Authority and Liberty 38 SAMUEL SEWALL JOHN WINTHROP 19. Paradise in America 160 5. The Puritan State and Puritan Society 40 JONATHAN EDWARDS PERRY MILLER 20. Puritanism, the Wilderness, and the Frontier 163 6. The Ultimate Individual 52 ALAN HEIMERT RALPH BARTON PERRY 65 PART THREE: THE PURITAN LEGACY 7. The Mirror of Puritan Authority DARRETT B. RUTMAN Introduction 181 PART TWO: THE PURITAN BECOMES AMERICAN A. The Protestant Ethic Introduction 83 21. The Puritan Ethic and the American Revolution 183 EDMUND S. MORGAN A. The Vision Refracted: "a mess of American Pottage" 22. God and Mammon 198 8. New Englands Duty 90 IRVIN G. WYLLIE NICHOLAS NOYES vi Contents 23. Poor Richard and Playboy 211 MORTON L. ROSS Puritanism and Democracy 24. The Idea of the Covenant and American Democracy 219 H. RICHARD NIEBUHR 25. Theological Convictions and Democratic Government 226 WINTHROP S. HUDSON 26. The Resolution of Nonconformity 235 PERRY MILLER Puritanism and the American Character 27. The Spirit of America 240 HAROLD J. LASKI 28. The Pilgrim Fathers and the American Way 245 DIXON WECTER 29. The Puritan Legacy 260 KENNETH B. MURDOCK Recommended Reading 275 12/28/2017 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. G+ More Next Blog eppster2@comcast.net Dashboard Sign Out Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. A teacher, preacher, and well published church leader of the 20th century, Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. is remembered here in this obituary (with slight adaptations) as it was published in the New York Times, 1993. It was composed by his son, Michael McGiffert, editor of the William & Mary Quarterly. 20060815 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr., 1892 - 1993 WILLIAMSAND MARY Essicuto 2006-08-15 10, 1998 I Power e Blogger Sear custom who died long lite. posted by Family of Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. | 15.8.06 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr., 1892 - 1993 Arthur Cushman NcGiffert Jr Chicago, 1937 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr., 100, a minister of the United Church of Christ (Congregational) and former president of the Chicago Theological Seminary and the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA, died on April 9,1993, in Claremont, CA. McGiffert, born in Cincinnati, OH, on November 27, 1892, was the son of Arthur Cushman McGiffert, a distinguished historian of Christian thought, and Gertrude Huntington (Boyce) McGiffert, a poet. He grew up in Pelham Manor, NY, and attended school in New York City. He graduated in 1913 from Harvard College, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. In 1913 - 1914 he held a postgraduate fellowship at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece. In 1917 he received the Bachelor of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York and an M.A. from Columbia University. He was ordained the same year into the Congregational ministry. On May 29, 1917, he was married to Elisabeth Eliot, of Cambridge, MA, daughter of Samuel Atkins Eliot and Frances Hopkinson Eliot, and granddaughter of Charles William Eliot, former president of Harvard. After a marriage of 74 years, she predeceased him in 1991. Mr. McGiffert taught briefly at Union Theological Seminary and was in quick succession a YMCA Secretary at the Pensacola, FL Naval Air Station, a US Army chaplain, a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, and a Traveling Fellow of Union Seminary at the University of Zurich. After short stints of pastoral service in Rensselaerville, NY, Roxbury, VT, and New York City, Mr. McGiffert became pastor of All Souls Church in Lowell, MA, where he served from 1920-26. 12/28/2017 Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Jr. From 1926 - 39 he taught American religious thought at the Chicago Theological Seminary while also serving as director of studies, with a special interest in pastoral psychology. During those years he published a biography of the theologian Jonathan Edwards as well as editions of his father's writings, Christianity as History and Faith, and the sermons of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Young Emerson Speaks. His numerous writings on religious and civic affairs exemplified and applied the values of religious liberalism. The seminary awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1939. As president of the Pacific School of Religion from 1939 to 1945, McGiffert launched ecumenical programs with neighboring religious institutions for training pastors and lay leaders and for postwar rehabilitation in central Europe and China. He was active in the American Association of Theological Seminaries. He helped form and direct a Committee on American Principles and Fair Play to defend and assist interned Japanese Americans. As a member of the Berkeley draft board, he had a special concern for the rights of conscientious objectors. In 1945 he received an honorary Litt. D. from the Pacific School of Religion and an LL.D. from the College (now University) of the Pacific. In 1946, McGiffert returned to the Chicago Theological Seminary as president. There he promoted curricular experimentation through the recently formed Federated Theological Faculty, a consortium of four neighboring seminaries. He successfully maintained his institution's autonomy when efforts were made to incorporate it into the University of Chicago Divinity School. He was highly regarded as an administrator, counselor, and preacher. He served as chairman of the Chicago branch of the American Civil Liberties Union and as trustee of Dillard University in New Orleans. After retiring in 1959, McGiffert continued to act in academic, church, and community affairs. In 1960 he held a Fulbright lectureship at Cambridge University. A long-time summer resident on Mount Desert Island, Maine, he was a founding trustee of the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, taught at Bangor Theological Seminary, and served on the boards of the Maine Seacoast Mission, the Mount Desert Larger Parish, and the Mount Desert hospital. He took a strong interest in safety on the island's roads and in issues concerning Acadia National Park. In retirement he published a history of the Chicago Theological Seminary, No Ivory Tower, and a biography of his father-in-law, Pilot of a Liberal Faith. His last work, a personal memoir titled Anecdotage, was completed and printed in the year of his death. After 1971, McGiffert lived at Pilgrim Place, a church-related retirement community in Claremont. Survivors include two sons, David Eliot McGiffert, of Washington, D.C., and Michael McGiffert, of Williamsburg, VA, a daughter, Ellen McGiffert Brokaw, of Santa Paula, CA, 7 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. torr Timiline T 11/07. [S.A.] December 17,1924. My dear Dr. Eliot:- ^ Your letter was handed to me when I went into the University Club this morning. Good news it is that Hough- ton and Mifflin are to get out a new edition of Street's History of Mount Desert Copies of the original are now 80 scarce that the book has been classed by dealers among quite rare Americana. Nothing would please me more that to be of assistance to you and I will gladly place at your disposal anything and everything that I may happen to have which is of use to you. No, I have no idea of publishing a book about Mount Des- ert. My humble efforts have been, and will continue to be, the collecting of material relative to what might be call- ed the different phases of our local history locating original documents where ever they may be found, getting hold of these originals when possible, copies in photostat when the items are in various archives, and certified ccpies when no photostat process is available. In a word, it is the research part of the job that ap- peals to me and not the literary effort which must of necessity go into the preparation of the material to be issued in book form. I am content to do the grubbing, but I want to do it in such a thorough manner that the fellow who follows will have no fault to find. [W.O.Sawtelle] [S.E.] March 7, 1925. My dear Dr. Eliot:- ^ Thanks for your very kind letter. I greatly fear, however, that your are so generously inclined that you overestimate. I am delighted at the prospect of seeing you on the fift- eenth of this month, and wish very much that you might be able to run out to Haverford where we could talk Mount Des ert here at my home. The bibliography is now occupying my attention, though I haven't had much time lately to put upon it,having been ab- sorbed in writing a paper for Sprague's Journal, entitled: Mount Degert: From Champlain to Bernard. It is rank propa- ganda, stressing the historical significance of the names of some of our mountains -Champlain, Saint Sauveur, Mansell, Acadia, Cadillac, and Bernard. I trust that it will result * in silencing the Green-Dog-Robinson bunch who do not hesi- tate to say that they see no rhyme or reason in the "new names. " By the way, before I forget. In Street, p. 19, is the state- ment, in reference to Champlain - that he "was allhis life a staunch Roman Catholic. 11 I find that this is questionable. Recent investigators seem to conclude, since no baptismal rec- ord of the gentleman has ever been fund that he was not a Catholic by birth. There is no question about his later in clinations. Faithfully yours, William O. Sawlelle. (2) What do I think might be done with the original chapters of the book? I would leave them "as is." Minor correct- ions may easily be made in the plates, while others, requir- ing treatment a bit drastic, could be handled in notes at the end of the book. You and I know that Dr. Street did a very remarkable piece of work when he wrote his history It is no local history ,a mere chronicle of events, but a work into which the author threw himself with ardor and enthusiasm. The tragic part of it all is,h he never saw his book. I feel that no matter how many editions there may be of the book, it should always be "Street's Mount Desert. " Incidentally, the publishers cannot complain if the main part of the book 18 left practically intact. True, I have located quite a lot of new stuff in various parts of the world:Paris, Quebec, Mass. Historical Society, Archives of the Commonwealth of Mass., Hancock County Regis- try, Maine Historical Society, Ay lesbury, Buckinghamshire, England where the descendants of Sir Francis Bernard live to say nothing of what has come my way in the Mount Desert region itself. Your suggestion of a foreword or an appendix is a good one for herein could be taken care of as much or as little new material as might be decided upon. Most of my notes,unfortunately, are in my safe at Isles- ford. I used to carry them back and forth with me but since they have be gun to take the form of young archives I have been obliged to leave them "at home." But Street's History is always with me as I have a copy here at Haverford and another one at Islesford. Therefore, in a few days I will (3) send a list of corrections to you which may be of interest. What about the bibliography of Mount Desert? Don't you believe that that should be brought up to date? Would the publishers stand for any more illustrations? The Colonial Society of Massachusetts has a beautiful plate of Sir Fran cis Bernard, also a plate of Mount Desert from the Admiralty Map. Curiously enough, only this afternoon I received a cat- alogue from Holland in which was listed a set of these maps. It quite startled me to note "Frenchman's Bay and Mount Des- art" in a Dutch company. But I thus obtained some biblio- graphical data that I didn't have before. It was a pleasure to note on the letter head the name of an old friend whom I have not seen for years. Walter Hunt and I were boy s together in Bangor, Maine. When you see him won't you please remember me to him. Don't hesitate to let me know what I can do for you. Faithfully yours, William O. Sawlelle