This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
This collection was processed with support from the Watson-Brown Foundation.
Size | 7.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 3,000 items) |
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. |
Creator | Fox family.
Simon family. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
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.
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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.
Back to TopThe 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 naturalist George 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.
Back to TopArrangement: by family name.
Correspondence of 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 Betty 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; Army Corps of Engineers work; 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.
Arrangement: by family groups, then chronological, then special format.
Chiefly black-and-white portraits and candid photographs of Fox, Simon, Weil, and Whiting family members. There are a few negatives, tintypes, ambrotypes, and panotypes.
Image Folder PF-5363/1 |
Agnes Whiting Fox |
Image Folder PF-5363/2 |
Philip Fox |
Image Folder PF-5363/3 |
Edward Whiting Fox |
Image Folder PF-5363/4 |
Betty Simon Fox |
Image Folder PF-5363/5 |
Edward and Betty Fox |
Image Folder PF-5363/6-9
PF-5363/6PF-5363/7PF-5363/8PF-5363/9 |
Edward and Betty Fox family |
Image Folder PF-5363/10 |
Elsa Simon |
Image Folder PF-5363/11 |
Robert E. Simon |
Image Folder PF-5363/12 |
Elsa and Robert Simon family, 1921 |
Image Folder PF-5363/13-14
PF-5363/13PF-5363/14 |
Elsa and Robert Simon family |
Image Folder PF-5363/15 |
Weil family |
Image Folder PF-5363/16 |
Whiting family |
Image Folder PF-5363/17 |
Family gatherings |
Image Folder PF-5363/18 |
Family portraits |
Image Folder PF-5363/19 |
Fox-Genovese wedding |
Image Folder PF-5363/20 |
Houses |
Image Folder PF-5363/21 |
1860s-1890s |
Image Folder PF-5363/22 |
1900s-1910s |
Image Folder PF-5363/23 |
1920s-1930s |
Image Folder PF-5363/24-25
PF-5363/24PF-5363/25 |
1940s-1950s |
Image Folder PF-5363/26 |
1960s-1980s |
Image Folder PF-5363/27 |
1960s-1980s color |
Image Folder PF-5363/28 |
Miscellaneous |
Oversize Image Folder OP-PF-5363/1 |
Photograph of more than 100 people in a field, some of whom are climbing a structure [similar to a barn raising], 1910s |
Extra Oversize Image XOP-P-5363/1 |
Panorama photograph of 150th anniversary of Cohasset Pageant, 1921 |
Special Format Image SF-P-5363/1 |
Panotype of unidentified man, circa 1890sPortrait of a man in formal suit |
Special Format Image SF-P-5363/2 |
Panotype of unidentified woman, circa 1890sPortrait of a woman in formal dress |
Special Format Image SF-P-5363/3-4
SF-P-5363/3SF-P-5363/4 |
Tintypes of unidentified boys, circa 1880sTwo portraits of two young boys seated in front of backdrop image of water's edge and lighthouse |
Special Format Image SF-P-5363/5 |
Tintype of unidentified soldier, 1860s |
Special Format Image SF-P-5363/6 |
Ambrotype of unidentified young girl, 1860s |
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.
Materials include miscellaneous clippings; school and camp materials; history lecture notebooks, scrapbooks with postcards of France and art, and various files of Edward Whiting Fox, including reviews of L'autre France, travel expenses, and writings; homemade valentines and cards; a Morgenthau-Simon family genealogical scrapbook; and miscellaneous writings, notes, and sketches of Fox family members.