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Diary of Frederic M. Burnham

1 folder (0.1 linear feet)

(1906)

Edward H. Nabb Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury, University, Salisbury, Maryland

Identifier SC2013.082
Creator(s) Burnham, Frederic
Acquisition

Acquired by Dr. Beatriz Hardy (Dean of SU Libraries and Instructional Resources) in 2013.

SC2013.082
Language(s) English
Use Records are open for research. Copyright, including literary rights, belongs to the author(s) or their legal heirs. Permission to publish or reproduce must be obtained from the Nabb Research Center which extends beyond "fair use."
Preferred Citation "Item, collection title and identifier, box # and folder # (if applicable), Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland."
Attribution Finding aid written by Margaret Long.
Related Materials

Diary of Warren Sasenbery (1892 – 1903)
Separated Materials See Nabb Center Staff
Abstract

The Diary of Frederic Burnham was written in 1906 in Boston, Massachusetts and details the boy's experiences in high school and daily life. There are entries for every day from January 1, 1906 until December 30, 1906.

Biographical History

Frederic Munroe Burnham was born on July 19, 1888 in Lincoln, Massachusetts. He was the son of William Appleton Burnham (1852 – 1922) and Alice Munroe Burnham (1856 – 1914). His parents met in Alice’s native Paris, France. They were married there on April 27, 1879 and moved to the United States within the year. Frederic was the youngest of four children. His siblings were: Alice (b. 1880 -?), William Jr (1882 – 1961), and Marion (1884 – 1896).

In Boston, Massachusetts there is a stained-glass window in the Emmanuel Church dedicated to Frederic’s older sister, Marion.  At the age of 12, Marion drowned in Lake Champlain on August 9, 1896 while on a visit with her family to the summer home of Charles H. Head in Westport, New York. The children’s nurse, Maggie Toomey, a 20-year-old Irish immigrant, died in an attempt to save the little girl. The window was destroyed in 2000 because of a fire, but was restored in 2017 and rededicated with descendants of the other Burnham siblings in attendance. There are two other stained-glass windows dedicated to Marion; one at St. John’s Church in Williamstown, Massachusetts and the other in St. Saviour’s Church in Bar Harbor, Maine where the Burnhams visited in the summers and where Marion sang in the choir.

On May 20, 1916, Frederic married Rosamund Eliot Burnham (1894 – 1959). The couple had three children together; Frederic Burnham Jr (1917 – 2003), Amory Eliot Burnham (1919 – 1986), and Henry Dennison Burnham (1920 – 2011).

Frederic died on April 20, 1963. He is buried in Eastwood Cemetery in Massachusetts.

Scope and Content Note

The Diary of Frederic Burnham was written in 1906 in Boston, Massachusetts and details the boy's experiences in high school and daily life. There are entries for every day from January 1, 1906 until December 30, 1906.

Frederic was a diligent writer. The diary consists of neat, tight script. Average entries detail the weather, how Frederic spent time with his friends and his study habits.

Arrangement Statement See Nabb Center Staff

Subject Terms

  • Topical Terms
    • City and Town Life
    • Diaries
    • Diaries (Men)
    • Family Life
    • Youth
  • Location Terms
    • Boston (Ma.)

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Artifacts

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