Series X. Fowle and Durant family, circa 1775, 1823-1863
Scope and Contents
Series X. Fowle and Durant family (circa 1775, 1823-1863) consists of objects relating to college founders Mr. and Mrs. Durant’s grandfather, Captain John Fowle, and his time serving in the Revolutionary War, including three bullets from a supply of ammunition stored in a colonial meeting house in Lincoln, Massachusetts, the Insignia of the Order of the Cincinnati, and a framed invitation to attend the Standing Committee meeting of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati. Series also consists of personal objects of Pauline Adeline Fowle Durant, including her wedding handkerchief, a locket with a picture of her son Henry “Harry” Fowle Durant Jr., a jewelry box, a brooch, embroidery by relative Mary Cooke Fowle, cousin Mrs. Bissell, and portraits of family members including her parents, her husband Henry, and herself in wedding garb. Series also includes objects of Pauline Adeline Fowle Durant’s father, Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) John “Jack” Fowle, such as his pocket guide of the United States, a “Little Housewife” doll made for him by Pauline, a mourning pin containing a lock of his hair, a book by Revered Charles Caleb Colton.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1775, 1823-1863
Creator
- From the Collection: Wellesley College (Organization)
- From the Collection: Durant, H. F. (Henry Fowle), 1822-1881 (Person)
- From the Collection: Durant, Pauline Adeline Fowle, 1832-1917 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research, but contains some material which has been restricted as per the Wellesley College Archives Access Policy: https://www.wellesley.edu/lts/policies/archivesaccess. To make an appointment to view unrestricted materials, please contact the Archives staff by email at archives@wellesley.edu or by phone at (781) 283-3745.
Biographical / Historical
Henry Fowle Durant (1822-1881) was born Henry Welles Smith; he changed his name when he moved to Boston in 1847 and found too many other practicing lawyers shared the name Henry Smith. Mr. Henry Fowle Durant and Mrs. Pauline Adeline Fowle Durant were grandchildren of Captain John Fowle, who was an officer in the American Revolution, and lived in Watertown, Massachusetts. Captain John Fowle’s son, John “Jack” Fowle, married Paulina Cazenove; they were Pauline Adeline Fowle’s parents. John “Jack” Fowle was a Major and later a Lieutenant Colonel in the army. Captain John Fowle’s daughter, Harriet Fowle, married William Smith; they were Henry Welles Smith (later Henry Fowle Durant)’s parents. On May 23, 1854, Henry Fowle Durant married his cousin Pauline Adeline Fowle (1832-1917). Henry Fowle Durant was a successful lawyer, making $10,000 a year by 1850; part of his later fortune used to found Wellesley College was the result of taking legal fees from a rubber company in the form of stock. Mr. and Mrs. Durant had a son, Henry “Harry” Fowle Durant (born 1855), and a daughter, Pauline Cazenove Durant (born 1857); their daughter passed away after six weeks, and their son passed away at eight years old, after the Durant’s had acquired the three hundred acres of land eventually used to found Wellesley College, initially planned as a country estate for the family. Following his son’s death, Henry Fowle Durant underwent a religious conversion; he had already been a practicing Christian, but he was inspired to become a devoted evangelical. He quit his law practice and became a lay preacher across New England. In 1867 the Durants made the decision to dedicate their estate next to Lake Waban to the education of women.
[Information from: Glasscock, Jean, and Katharine Canby Balderston. Wellesley College, 1875-1975: a Century of Women. Wellesley College, 1975. Pages 2-9.]
Extent
From the Collection: 54.6 Linear Feet (24 boxes, 45 oversize boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Chinese
From the Collection: Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
From the Collection: German
Repository Details
Part of the Wellesley College Archives Repository