This section includes material dated to 1860. Very little of the material in this period was created by Holmes or is about him. Most of the documents offer information about his ancestors including John Holmes and Wendell Jacob. Documents include several newspapers from the 18th century, and manuscripts including the journal of Ephraim Wendell (1708-1710).
Holmes served three years in the Union Army mustering out as a Lt. Colonel on July 17, 1864. The war had a profound impact on him and his experience is well documented in the Suite. Included is a substantial amount of correspondence written by Holmes to his parents as well as telegrams, a diary, documents about his commission and promotions, and his Civil War scrapbook.
This time period is defined from the time Holmes left the Union Army in 1864 until 1881, the year before he became an Associate Justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Primary life events during this time include: his graduation from Harvard Law School and admittance to the Massachusetts bar; marriage to Fanny Bowditch Dixwell; and his editorship of the American Law Review. Documents include material Holmes received from Harvard Law School, general correspondence, and official documents related to his admittance to the Massachusetts Bar Association.
This period begins in 1882 when Holmes takes a seat on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and ends with his retirement as an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court in 1933. Most of the documents in this section are peripheral to his judicial career. Items include a docket and bench book created while on the MSJC and volumes of his opinions while on both courts. These volumes include marginal notes in Holmes’ hand as well as inserted notes and laid-in letters.
Documents found here date from 1865 through the end of Holmes’ life in 1935. Both his personal and professional life is represented through copious correspondence with a wide variety of people. Included are general correspondence, and professional writings with people such as Harold Laski and Felix Frankfurter. Also included are documents from non-professional aspects of his life such as Civil War Associations, invitations from social clubs, and scrapbooks of cartoons that he collected.
The date range for this group is 1920-1935. The date of 1920 does not mark a landmark event or turning point in Holmes' life, but is more reflective of the dates represented by the material in the collection. This period includes milestones such as his 80th and 90th birthdays in 1921 and 1931, and his retirement from the Supreme Court in 1933. Ongoing correspondence between Holmes and many correspondents continues, including letters of sympathy he received after the death of his wife in 1929.