TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary of the Collection
Scope and Content of the Collection
Further Biographical and Genealogical Information
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Inventory of the Francis and Robert Tomes Papers, 1837-1881
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Alison Hinderliter, 2009. ©2009. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
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| Creator | Tomes, Francis, 1780-1869 |
| Title | Francis and Robert Tomes Papers |
| Dates | 1837-1881 |
| Extent | 1.5 cubic ft. (4 boxes and 1 envelope) |
| Abstract | Journals, essays, and memoirs written by British businessman Francis Tomes (1780-1869) and his son, American-born physician and author Robert Tomes (1817-1882). |
| Language | Materials are in English. |
| Repository | Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
| Collection Call Number | Vault Modern MS Tomes |
| Collection Stack Location | Vault 40 8 |
Administrative Information
Cite As
Francis and Robert Tomes Papers, Midwest Manuscript Collection, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Provenance
Gift, James S. Tomes, A. Hadden Tomes, and Arthur Tomes Lewry, 1995-2000.
Processed by
Alison Hinderliter, 2009.
Access
The Francis and Robert Tomes Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box or envelope at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Francis and Robert Tomes Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
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Biography of Francis Tomes
English-born businessman.
Francis Tomes was born October 14, 1780, in Chipping Campden, Gloucester, England. Due to financial hardship caused by the death of his father in 1785, Francis began working early in life as a clerk to Edward Lewis, who had a Birmingham-based trading business. In 1812 Tomes married Maria Roberts, and soon after he started his own trading business, which failed. His former employer Lewis hired him to start a branch of his business in New York City, to be called "Lewis & Tomes." Francis moved to New York in 1815 to start up the business: the firm imported British manufactured goods and exported cotton from the United States to England. His wife and two infant sons followed him to New York in 1816, and the couple had four more children (including Robert Tomes, b. 1817). The trading business became so successful Tomes bought out Lewis and became "Francis Tomes & Sons." When Tomes reached old age he handed over the control of the company to his sons Francis Jr. and Benjamin, and Tomes (Sr.) moved back to England. He died in Little Longstone, Derbyshire, England, in 1869, age 79.
His trading business made it necessary for Tomes to travel frequently, both across the Atlantic to England and within the United States. Even with the great difficulties of traveling in the early-to-mid 1800s, Tomes loved to travel, especially by ship. He was less enthused about the United States and its cities. Being a relatively moderate and temperate man, he was dismayed by the debauchery of the frontier life he witnessed while journeying from one city to another throughout the Eastern, Midwestern, and Southern states. His memories of these trips make up his part of the collection, which are his travel journals.
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Biography of Robert Tomes
American physician and author.
Robert Tomes, son of Francis and Maria Tomes, was born in New York City on March 27, 1817. He attended Columbia College Grammar School in New York, and Washington College (now Trinity College) in Hartford, Connecticut. After one year at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School he continued his medical studies at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1840. After studying further in Paris, he moved back to New York to start his medical practice. Beginning to write around 1853, Tomes gradually relinquished his medical business and became an author. Dr. Tomes married Katherine Fasnet of Wiesbaden, Germany, and had one daughter and two sons. The family lived in New York City, Wiesbaden, Germany, and Rheims, France.
Not unlike his father Francis, Robert Tomes wrote prodigiously about his life and travels. Among his books relating to his journeys and adventures are: Panama in 1855, which he wrote after being invited to inspect the Panama Railroad, and The Champagne Country (1867), about Rheims, France, when he was appointed as U.S. Consul there. He also wrote on historic topics, translating the German publication The Black Man: The Comparative Anatomy and Psychology of the African Negro, publishing an abridgment of The Narrative of Commodore Perry's Expedition to Japan in 1857, a book on American Battles in 1861, and a three-volume work on the Civil War, which appeared in parts from 1862-1867 and was also issued in German. The remainder of his life was spent writing handbooks for Harper and Brothers publishers, including The Bazar Book of Decorum (1870), The Bazar Book of the Household (1875), Youth's Health Book (1878), and My College Days (1880). Dr. Tomes died at his home in Brooklyn, NY, August 28, 1882.
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Scope and Content of the Collection
Journals, essays, and memoirs written by British businessman Francis Tomes (1780-1869) and his son, American-born physician and author Robert Tomes (1817-1882). See the notes under each series for more detailed information.
Narrative descriptions of the subject matter, types of material, and arrangement of each series are available through the Organization section of the finding aid.
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Organization
Papers are organized in the following series:
- Series 1: Francis Tomes Journals, 1837-1839. Box(es) 1
- Series 2: Robert Tomes Papers, 1840-1881. Box(es) 2-5
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Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Names
- Almshouse of the City of New York -- Biography
- Lewry, Arthur Tomes, former owner
- Tomes, Francis, 1780-1869
- Tomes, Francis, 1780-1869. The private travel journals of Francis Tomes.
- Tomes, James S., former owner
- Tomes, Robert, 1817-1882
- Tomes, Robert, 1817-1882
- Tomes, Robert, 1817-1882. Hygiene for pleasure.
- Tomes, Robert, 1817-1882. Memoirs of Doctor Robert Tomes.
- Tomes, Robert, 1817-1882. My later days.
- Tomes, Robert, 1817-1882. Our boys and girls.
- Tomes, Robert, 1817-1882. Travelling for health.
- University of Edinburgh -- Students -- Biography
Subjects
- Almshouses -- New York (State) -- New York -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) -- Biography
- Child development
- Children -- Health and hygiene
- College students -- Scotland -- Biography
- Diaries -- Southern States -- 1801-1850
- Journals (notebooks) -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn -- 1851-1900
- Leisure -- Health aspects
- Manuscripts, American
- Medical students -- France -- Paris -- Biography
- Memoirs -- United States -- 1801-1850
- Panama, Isthmus of (Panama) -- Description and travel
- Sex differences
- Slavery -- United States -- Public opinion
- Southern States -- Description and travel
- Transatlantic voyages
- Travel --Health aspects
- Travel literature -- California -- 1801-1850
- Voyages to the Pacific coast
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Further Biographical and Genealogical Information
For more information about Francis and Robert Tomes and their descendents, see the following works, all available at the Newberry Library:
Tomes, Ian Maxwell. Pedigree of the family of Tomes of Broadway, Bidford, Camden (England) and New York (United States of America) / compiled by I. M. Tomes. Somerset, England I.M. and J.M. Tomes, 1996. Call Number: folio CS 439 .T46 1996 [General Collections].
Tomes, Ian Maxwell. Tomes pedigree. [Fleet, Hampshire? : I.M. Tomes?, 1987?] Call Number: folio CS 439 .T46 1987 no. 1 [General Collections].
Tomes, Ian Maxwell. Pedigree of Tomes family. [Fleet, Hampshire :I.M. Tomes, 1987] Call Number: folio CS 439 .T46 1987 no. 2 [General Collections].
Tomes, James Steel. The private travel journals of Francis Tomes (born 1780, died 1869) / transcribed by Arthur C. Tomes, Christine M. Hanson and James S. Tomes ; edited by James S. Tomes. Wilmette, Ill.: J.S. Tomes, c1996. Call Numbers: Case folio E 165 .T66b [leather-bound copy, Special Collections]; and folio E 165 .T66 [paper-bound copy, General Collections].
Tomes, James Steel. The private memoirs of Robert Tomes (born 1817, died 1882) / transcribed by Christine M. Hanson and James S. Tomes ; edited by James S. Tomes. Wilmette, Ill.: J.S. Tomes, c1996. Call Numbers: Case folio F 128.44 .T65 1996b [leather-bound copy, Special Collections]; and folio F 128.44 .T65 1996 [paper-bound copy, General Collections].
Tomes, James Steel. Serendipity: The Genealogy of Tomes, Steel , Raymaley and Shaeffer Families. Evanston, Ill.: Howard Blake and Company, c2008. Call Number: folio CS 71 .T46 2008 [General Collections].
See also the Information File for the Tomes Papers, available in the Special Collections department.
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Container List
Series 1: Francis Tomes Journals, 1837-1839 |
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| Six volumes of journals written by Francis Tomes, describing three Atlantic Ocean round-trip crossings (between Liverpool and New York) and one seven-month overland business trip in the United States from October 1837 to May 1838. His business in importing British manufacturing goods had him traveling frequently, and he made over fifty trips across the Atlantic in his long business career. Tomes's trip throughout the United States in 1837-1838 was made to collect bad debts, and he traveled through most of the major cities of the United States at the time, including New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville, Louisville, St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, New Orleans, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, Selma, Montgomery, Pensacola, Macon, Athens, Augusta, and Charleston. | |||||||||||
| While most of Francis Tomes's journal entries are about the local geography and the process of traveling, he also commented frequently on the politics and social issues of the day, including the institution of slavery and the rough life of the pioneers in the then-furthest Western cities of the United States. Tomes traveled by steamship, stagecoach, and occasionally by rail and horseback. | |||||||||||
| Arranged chronologically. | |||||||||||
| Two copies of typescripts of the journals, along with prefatory material and biography of Francis Tomes, are available in the Newberry Library: Call numbers Case folio E 165 .T66b [leather-bound copy, Special Collections]; and folio E 165 .T66 [paper-bound copy, General Collections]. | |||||||||||
| Box | Vol. | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Journal #1: New York to Lexington, Kentucky, Oct. 19 - Dec. 10, 1837 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Journal #2: Lexington, Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee, Dec. 11, 1837-Jan. 14, 1838 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Journal #3: Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Mobile Alabama, Jan. 14 - Feb. 20, 1838 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Journal #4: Montgomery, Alabama, to New York City, Mar. 22-May 18, 1838 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Journal #5: Two Atlantic crossings, Jun. 8, 1838-Mar. 18, 1839 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Journal #6: Business Notes and Expense Accounts, Oct. 17, 1837-May 15, 1838 | |||||||||
Series 2: Robert Tomes Papers, 1840-1881 |
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| Nine volumes of memoirs and three essays by physician and author Robert Tomes. | |||||||||||
| The first seven handwritten volumes are early memoirs recalled when Tomes was 62 years old and living in Wiesbaden, Germany. They cover the period beginning with Tomes's immediate ancestors through his birth in 1817 and boyhood in New York City, his schooling through college in American and his medical school in Edinburgh through graduation in 1840. The last three volumes were published in 1880 by Harper & Brothers and entitled My College Days, available in the Newberry Library (Call Numbers LB 2397 .T6 1880 (original publication) and folio LB 2397 .T6 1880 (reprint) [both in General Collections]). | |||||||||||
| The next two volumes, which are loose leaves arranged in mylar sheets and bound, is called My Later Days and is an autograph autobiographical account by Dr. Robert Tomes, of his travels and adventures between 1840 and 1849, following his graduation from medical school at the University of Edinburgh. Vol. 1 contains the first fourteen chapters of the account, relating Tomes' subsequent experience at the Medical School and hospitals in Paris from 1840 until 1842, when he sailed for New York via Liverpool aboard the "Independence." Vol. 2 continues with chapters 15-25, in which he describes his two years as the assistant physician of the Almshouse Department of New York, and three years in private practice. The account concludes with Tomes' appointment in 1848 as ship surgeon on the steamer "Panama," sailing from New York, around South America, and up the coast of Mexico to San Francisco. He returns to New York in 1849 via the Isthmus of Panama. My Later Days was most likely penned around 1881, since Tomes mentions in the memoir, "Gerardus Boyce, is now dead, but I met him little more than a year ago (c.1880)..." (see typescript, p. 35). | |||||||||||
| There are also three essays included. The first essay, "Our boys and girls," comments on the physical and social differences between boys and girls, as well as on the different attitudes of American and European families towards children. In particular Tomes criticizes the lax discipline and boundless indulgence of American youth. "Travelling for health" concerns the penchant of certain "invalids" to roam the world seeking some cure for their often vaguely-defined malaise, and Tomes believes that most such invalids could be cured without leaving home, especially if they engaged in more frequent activity, and exercised restraint at the table. His criticism is especially directed at physicians who customarily send abroad those suffering from consumption. Other topics discussed include the curative effects of German and other mineral springs, sea voyages, and changes in climate. Finally, "Hygiene of pleasure" deals with the beneficial effect of play and pleasure on the human body to alleviate the strain of physical or intellectual efforts. However, Tomes advocates moderation in both work and the pursuit of pleasure, and comments specifically on the often over-indulged in pleasures of eating and drinking, dancing, card-playing, reading newspapers and magazines, and music. | |||||||||||
| Arranged alphabetically by title. | |||||||||||
| Two copies of typescripts of the Memoirs, along with prefatory material and biography of Robert Tomes, are available in the Newberry Library: Call numbers Case folio F 128.44 .T65 1996b [leather-bound copy, Special Collections]; and folio F 128.44 .T65 1996 [paper-bound copy, General Collections]. | |||||||||||
| A Typescript of My Later Days, along with chapter index, follows the manuscript copy in the series. | |||||||||||
| Box | Vol. | Contents | |||||||||
| 2 | 7 | Memoirs, #1, 1879 | |||||||||
| 2 | 8 | Memoirs, #2, 1879 | |||||||||
| 2 | 9 | Memoirs, #3, 1879 | |||||||||
| 2 | 10 | Memoirs, #4, 1879 | |||||||||
| 2 | 11 | Memoirs, #5, 1879 | |||||||||
| 2 | 12 | Memoirs, #6, 1879 | |||||||||
| 2 | 13 | Memoirs, #7, 1879 | |||||||||
| 3 | 14 | My Later Days, manuscript Vol. 1, [1881] | |||||||||
| 3 | 15 | My Later Days, manuscript Vol. 2, [1881} | |||||||||
| 4 | 16 | My Later Days, typescript, [n.d.] | |||||||||
| 5 | 17 | Our Boys and Girls / Travelling for Health / Hygiene of Pleasure (bound together), ca. 1870 | |||||||||