Scope and Contents
The John L. De Forest Papers contain forty volumes of typescript diaries, 1935-2000, many with newspaper clippings and other related materials laid in. Diaries include entries relating to jazz musician and family friend Benny Goodman; Yiddish author Sholem Asch, for whom De Forest worked as a secretary in the 1940s; political associate John Davis Lodge, governor of Connecticut, 1951-1955; and Dutch historian and journalist Hendrik Willem Van Loon. The collection also includes typescript autobiographical writings and transcriptions of correspondence, based on excerpts from the diaries; research material and a biography of Tapping Reeve (1744-1823), Connecticut lawyer and educator, typescript draft; photographs of authors, musicians, and politicians represented in the diaries; photograph albums relating to family, friends, and the Brunswick School, Greenwich, Connecticut, 1930s-1940s; a scrapbook containing memorabilia from Oberlin College, 1935-1936; a scrapbook of clippings of newspaper articles written by De Forest for the Stamford Advocate and New Canaan Advertiser, about local news and Connecticut history, 1939-1940; scrapbooks of newspaper clippings concerning De Forest's work in Stamford politics, 1950s-1970s; scrapbooks of photographs, postcards, and ephemera relating to travel by De Forest in Europe, Canada, South America, and Mexico, 1940s-1950s; other newspaper clippings about local and national politics, 1920s-1970s; research materials on Connecticut history and De Forest family genealogy; and newsletters edited by De Forest for Electrolux.
Dates
- 1875 - 2000
- Majority of material found within 1934 - 2000
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The John L. De Forest Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift and bequest of John L. De Forest, 1996-2000.
Arrangement
Organized into two groupings: July 2000 Acquisition and September 1996 Acquisition.
Extent
11.83 Linear Feet ((21 boxes) + 1 roll)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
The John L. De Forest Papers contain forty volumes of typescript diaries, 1935-2000, many with newspaper clippings and other related materials laid in. Diaries include entries relating to jazz musician and family friend Benny Goodman; Yiddish author Sholem Asch, for whom De Forest worked as a secretary in the 1940s; political associate John Davis Lodge, governor of Connecticut, 1951-1955; and Dutch historian and journalist Hendrik Willem Van Loon. The collection also includes typescript autobiographical writings and transcriptions of correspondence, based on excerpts from the diaries; research material and a biography of Tapping Reeve (1744-1823), Connecticut lawyer and educator, typescript draft; photographs of authors, musicians, and politicians represented in the diaries; photograph albums relating to family, friends, and the Brunswick School, Greenwich, Connecticut, 1930s-1940s; a scrapbook containing memorabilia from Oberlin College, 1935-1936; a scrapbook of clippings of newspaper articles written by De Forest for the Stamford Advocate and New Canaan Advertiser, about local news and Connecticut history, 1939-1940; scrapbooks of newspaper clippings concerning De Forest's work in Stamford politics, 1950s-1970s; scrapbooks of photographs, postcards, and ephemera relating to travel by De Forest in Europe, Canada, South America, and Mexico, 1940s-1950s; other newspaper clippings about local and national politics, 1920s-1970s; research materials on Connecticut history and De Forest family genealogy; and newsletters edited by De Forest for Electrolux.
John L. De Forest (1916-2000)
John L. De Forest, diarist and politician in Stamford, Connecticut. De Forest graduated from the Brunswick School, Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1935, and attended Oberlin College, 1935-1936. In the 1940s, De Forest worked as a secretary for Yiddish author Sholem Asch. For most of his life, De Forest lived in Stamford, where he was a member of the Republican Party, founded a Quaker Meeting in 1948, and served on the city Board of Representatives and Police Commission during the 1950s. During the 1970s, he worked in the factory personnel department of Electrolux, a home appliance manufacturer in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. De Forest kept a diary, 1935-2000, in which he recorded events of his daily life, observations on local and world events, and meetings with friends in politics and the arts.
Processing Information
This collection consists of materials formerly classed as Uncat MSS 57 and Uncat Ms Vault 775. In 2005, the collection received a preliminary level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization. A preliminary finding aid was compiled from lists created at the time of receipt by the Library. Folder titles were based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles were not verified against the contents of folders. In 2007-2008, the preliminary finding aid was revised to comply with current archival descriptive standards.
In 2012, the collection received a baseline level of processing, including partial rehousing and minimal organization. The collection was reclassed under one call number, materials were organized by acquisition, and containers were renumbered in a single sequence. For some folders, contents were verified and folder titles updated.
- Asch, Sholem, 1880-1957
- Brunswick School (Greenwich, Conn.)
- De Forest family
- De Forest, John L. (John Le Roy), 1916-
- Diaries -- Connecticut -- Stamford -- 20th Century
- Electrolux Group
- Ephemera (general object genre) -- United States -- 20th Century
- Goodman, Benny, 1909-1986
- Lodge, John Davis, 1903-1985
- Oberlin College
- Photographs -- United States -- 20th Century
- Politicians -- Connecticut -- Stamford -- 20th Century
- Politicians -- Connecticut -- Stamford -- Archives
- Quakers -- Connecticut -- Stamford
- Reeve, Tapping, 1744-1823
- Republican Party (Conn.)
- Scrapbooks -- United States -- 20th Century
- Society of Friends -- Connecticut -- Stamford
- Stamford (Conn. : Town) -- Politics and government -- 20th Century
- Stamford (Conn. : Town) -- Social life and customs
- Van Loon, Hendrik Willem, 1882-1944
- Title
- Guide to the John L. De Forest Papers
- Author
- by Beinecke staff
- Date
- 2007-05-16
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.