MSS 137:  Dr. Henry D. and Hester Prescott Collection, 1919-1924 - New Bedford Whaling Museum
Inventory of the Prescott Collection In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research LibraryProcessed by: Jalien Hollister, 2014; machine-readable finding aid created by: Emily Esten, 2014Inventory of the Prescott Collection In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Table of Contents

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Related Materials

Administrative Information

Description

Inventory of the Prescott Collection

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library



Title:
Dr. Henry D. and Hester Prescott Collection
Date Span:
1919-1924
Creator:
Dr. Henry Dudley Prescott, , 1875-1945
Creator:
Hester William Swfit Prescott, , 1882-1962
Mss Number:
Mss 137
Extent:
16 linear inches
Abstract:
Collection of notebooks and scrapbooks compiled by Dr. Henry D. Prescott and his wife, reflecting the era of WWI and the League of Nations, bulk dates 1919-1924
Repository:
New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library
Phone: (508) 997-0046

Biographical Note

Henry Dudley Prescott (1875-1945) was the son of Charles Dudley and Martha Knowles Prescott. He graduated from Harvard College as a doctor and became a surgeon at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford for short time until he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In 1910 he married Hester Williams Swift (1882-1962) the daughter of Dr. William Nye Swift (1854-1911) and his wife Anna Hathaway Swift (1855-1933).

In 1918, they were living at 26 Grove St. in New Bedford but summered in Padanaram, in South Dartmouth. They built a house in Padanaram in 1929-1930 where they continued to live until Hester died in 1962.

Return to the Table of Contents


Scope and Content Note

This is a small collection of notebooks and scrapbooks. The notebooks are of particular interest to the sailors of Buzzards Bay and the local waters close to Apponagansett Bay, Padanarum, and the Elizabeth Islands. They contain the observations, navigational notes and carefully documented photographs compiled by Dr. Henry D. Prescott of New Bedford and South Dartmouth, MA. Hester Prescott's home study course on Interior Decoration includes a textbooks and her examination and lesson materials. The collection of scrapbooks and newspapers reflect the era of WWI and the League of Nations.

This accession, Mss 137, is an addition to an earlier collection of papers compiled by Hester Williams Swift Prescott between 1910 and 1960. That collection, Mss 92, contains early family histories of the Swifts, Nyes, Perrys, Prescotts, Hathaways and related families.

Arrangement of Collection

Return to the Table of Contents


Access to Collections

Unrestricted. Consult librarian for an appointment.

Preferred Citation

New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library Mss 137, [sub-group, series, sub-series, folder/volume as appropriate], [item]

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 United States Code 552a) governs the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include:

- non-commercial and non-profit study, scholarship, research, or teaching
- criticism or commentary
- as a NBWM archives preservation or security copy for research use
- as a research copy for deposit in another institution

If the researcher later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the researcher is personally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement and agrees to indemnify the New Bedford Whaling Museum from any legal action as a result of the error. Permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document does not indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from the document without permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded.

Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead, from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g. employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright is not necessarily the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The New Bedford Whaling Museum is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use."

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy law. This institution also places restrictions on the use of cameras, photocopiers, and scanners in the research room.

Return to the Table of Contents


Related Items

Mss 92: Hester Williams Swift Prescott Papers, 1863-1960
Mss 141: Swift Family Papers, 1811-1957

Return to the Table of Contents


Provenance

This Old Dartmouth Historical Society - New Bedford Whaling Museum acquired materials in this collection as part of Accession #B98-16.

Processing Information

Processed by: Jalien Hollister, 2014

Encoded by: Emily Esten, 22 August 2014

Return to the Table of Contents


Description

Please Consult Research Library for Detailed Description of Collection

Series I: Notebooks "Rocks and Ranges," Vols. I-III, undated
Series I: Notebooks "Rocks and Ranges," Vols. I-III contains Dr. Prescott’s navigational notes and observations of submerged uncharted rocks in Buzzards Bay. Volume III contains an essay by Dr. Prescott about the purpose behind this project.
Series II: Notebooks "Rocks and Ranges," Vols. I-VII, undated
Series II: Notebooks "Rocks and Ranges," Vols. I-VII contains photographs as well as navigational notes about Dr. Prescott’s observations and measurements of submerged rocks. There are many views of shore locations dating from the first half of the twentieth century.
Series III: Mrs. Henry D. Prescott's Home Study Interior Decoration Materials, 1923-1924
This series contains a text book on home decoration designed for home study. It includes Mrs. Prescott’s examinations papers.
Series IV: Collected Materials, 1919-1920, circa 1940
Series IV: Collected Materials contains a scrapbook about the League of Nations collected in 1919 and 1920. There is also a page from a scrapbook about miscellaneous articles of local interest and one special edition of the New York Times about WWI and a special section about Theodore Roosevelt published by the New York Tribune.

Return to the Table of Contents