Fox and Simon Family Papers, 1862-1991

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Summary

Creator:
Fox family. and Simon family.
Abstract:

The Fox family of Cohasset and Springfield, Mass., and the Simon family of New York City, N.Y., were joined by the marriage of Edward Whiting Fox (1911-1996) and Elizabeth Simon in 1935. Edward, the only son of Agnes Whiting Fox and Philip Fox, was a prominent European history scholar. Elizabeth was the oldest daughter of real estate mogul Robert E. Simon (d. 1935) and Elsa Weil Simon (d. 1964). Edward and Elizabeth had three children: Elizabeth Ann Fox, Edward W. Fox, and Rebecca Fox.

The collection consists of correspondence, photographs, and other papers documenting five generations of the Fox, Simon, Whiting, Cherrie, and McMillan families. The bulk of the correspondence relates to the Fox and Simon families and documents married life in the early and mid-20th century and intergenerational relationships, especially between parents and their adolescent and adult children. There is extensive correspondence, including love letters, between Agnes Whiting Fox and Philip Fox and between Elizabeth Simon Fox and Edward Whiting Fox. Topics include family news and domestic concerns; physical and mental health concerns; intellectual pursuits and higher education; boarding school and college experiences in Europe and the United States; the influenza epidemic of 1918; homefront life during World War I; civic activities of women; and New York City society during the 1930s. The earliest letters are of the McMillan and Cherrie families of Knoxville, Iowa, during the Civil War. Later Cherrie correspondence chiefly documents the expeditions of naturalist George Kruck Cherrie to various locales in Central and South America. Letters to Philip Fox illustrate the social and professional pursuits of young college men at the turn of the 20th century. Photographs are chiefly black-and-white portraits and candids of Fox, Simon, and Whiting family members. There are a few slides, negatives, tintypes, panotypes, and an ambrotype. Other papers include a few diaries of Betty Simon Fox; teaching materials and writings of Edward Whiting Fox; homemade valentines and cards; a Morgenthau-Simon family genealogical scrapbook; and miscellaneous clippings, writings, notes, sketches, and postcard scrapbooks of Fox family members.

Extent:
3,000 items (7.0 linear feet)
Language:
Materials in English
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

The Fox family of Cohasset and Springfield, Mass., and the Simon family of New York City, N.Y., were joined by the marriage of Edward Whiting Fox (1911-1996) and Elizabeth Simon in 1935. Edward Whiting Fox ("Teddy" in his youth, "Ed" later on) was the only son of Agnes Whiting Fox, a teacher before she married, and Philip Fox, an engineer and later a director of a trade school. He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from Harvard University. A prominent European history scholar, Fox briefly served as an Assistant Secretary of State for policy analysis during the Truman administration before joining the history faculty at Cornell University where he spent most of his career teaching.

Edward's maternal grandparents were Millah Cherrie Whiting and Frank Whiting and maternal great-grandparents were Martin Cherrie, a captain in Company K of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry in the Union Army during the Civil War, and Agnes B. Cherrie of Knoxville, Iowa. Maternal great aunts and uncles included Mary Cherrie and George Kruck Cherrie (1865-1948), a naturalist and explorer, and his wife Stella Cherrie.

Elizabeth Simon ("Betty") was the oldest daughter of Robert E. Simon (d. 1935) and Elsa Weil Simon (d. 1964). Robert E. Simon, the son of Pauline Morgenthau and Edward S. Simon, was a real estate mogul in New York City. He purchased Carnegie Hall in 1925. The Simons' other children were Helen, Carol, and Robert E. Jr. Betty graduated from Vassar College in 1931 and received an M.A. from Harvard University in 1932.

Edward and Betty had three children: Elizabeth Ann ("Betsey" or "B. A."), Edward W. ("Teddy"), and Rebecca ("Becky"). Betsey Fox, like her father, was a prominent historian. She married Eugene Genovese in 1969.

Scope and content:

The collection consists of correspondence, photographs, and other papers documenting five generations of the Fox, Simon, Whiting, Cherrie, and McMillan families of Cohasset, Mass., Springfield, Mass., and New York, N.Y. The bulk of the correspondence relates to the Fox and Simon families and documents married life in the early and mid-20th century and intergenerational relationships, especially between parents and their adolescent and adult children. There is extensive correspondence, including love letters, between Agnes Whiting Fox and Philip Fox and between Elizabeth Simon Fox and Edward Whiting Fox. Topics include family news and domestic concerns; physical and mental health concerns; intellectual pursuits and higher education; boarding school and college experiences in Europe and the United States; the influenza epidemic of 1918; homefront life during World War I; civic activities of women; and New York City society during the 1930s. The earliest letters are of the McMillan and Cherrie families of Knoxville, Iowa, during the Civil War. Later Cherrie correspondence chiefly documents the expeditions of naturalistGeorge Kruck Cherrie to various locales in Central America and South America. Letters to Philip Fox illustrate the social and professional pursuits of young college men at the turn of the 20th century. Photographs are chiefly black-and-white portraits and candids of Fox, Simon, and Whiting family members. There are a few slides, negatives, tintypes, panotypes, and an ambrotype. Other papers include a few diaries of Betty Simon Fox; teaching materials and writings of Edward Whiting Fox; homemade valentines and cards; a Morgenthau-Simon family genealogical scrapbook; and miscellaneous clippings, writings, notes, sketches, and postcard scrapbooks of Fox family members.

Acquisition information:

Received from the estate of Elizabeth Fox-Genovese in March and October 2007 (Acc. 100793, 100802).

Processing information:

Processed by: Nancy Kaiser and Amanda Ross, November 2007

Encoded by: Nancy Kaiser, November 2007

This collection was processed with support from the Watson-Brown Foundation.

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

No usage restrictions.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Fox and Simon Family Papers #5363, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu