Palmer-Gavit Family Papers, 1815-1985

Summary

Abstract:
The Palmer-Gavit Family Papers include the correspondence, writings, genealogy, scrapbooks, photographs, and articles pertaining to the entire Gavit family. The collection also contains correspondence, reference materials, scrapbooks, record books and writings related to Erastus Dow Palmer and Walter Launt Palmer.
Extent:
5 boxes
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of correspondence, diaries, genealogy, scrapbooks, written works, scientific records, and photographs primarily related to the Gavit Family. The collection also contains scrapbooks, reference material, correspondence, donation and exhibition information related to Erastus Dow Palmer and Walter Launt Palmer.

Biographical / historical:

John Edmonds Gavit was born in New York City, October 29, 1817. Employed as an engraver in several firms before striking out on his own, his influence led to the creation of the American Bank Note Co., and standardized many of the practices used in bank note production and processing that are still extant today on an international scale. Over the span of his life, Gavit involved himself in the sciences and made friends with several key innovators of the day. Gavit was also an appreciator of the arts an avid supporter of the Hudson Valley School of Artists, which is where he came into contact with Erastus Dow Palmer.

Gavit married Margaret Sophia Robinson and together they had eight children: Joseph Gavit, Margaret Gavit, William Gavit, Helen Gavit, Clark Gavit, Julia Gavit, Chloe Gavit, and Pauline Gavit. The Joseph Gavit line is the family group which with this collection is primarily concerned.

Joseph Gavit, born December 22, 1842, married Fanny Breese Palmer, daughter of Erastus Dow Palmer. Together they had seven children; John Palmer Gavit, Henry Fassett Gavit, Erastus Palmer Gavit, Helen Palmer Gavit, Joseph Launt Gavit, Mary Isabel Gavit, and Walter Palmer Gavit. Joseph Gavit followed in the footsteps of his father and was involved in engraving, printmaking and also in support of the arts.

The bulk of the collection focuses on Joseph Gavit’s oldest son, John Palmer Gavit who was married to Lucy Lamont. John Palmer Gavit, like his father and grandfather before him was interested in the arts. John Palmer Gavit was a prolific writer and wrote several plays that were produced at Proctor’s Theater in Albany, NY. He also had several articles published in prominent magazines such as Time and Harpers. Among his publications are the book Americans by Choice and Opium. John Palmer Gavit joined the staff of the Associated Press in 1902 and later accepted the position of Chief of Staff of the Washington Bureau of the Associated Press.

Actively engaged in politics, John Palmer Gavit was in constant contact with many high-ranking politicians, among them United States Presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, William H. Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. In 1930, as Governor of New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed John Palmer Gavit to the New York State Commission on Narcotics, a position he declined, even though he remained in contact with the Commission as a non-appointed advisor. Correspondence with Woodrow Wilson indicates that John Palmer Gavit also had some influence over Woodrow Wilson’s decisions regarding the Prohibition Act.

Through conversations with Chicago based Reverend Graham Taylor, John Palmer Gavit developed his interest in theology, which extended in turn to his family. In 1918 his wife, Lucy Lamont Gavit revealed to him that she could act as a medium between the spiritual world and the physical world. He met this with skepticism but as is recorded in the bound collection of conversations included in the Palmer Gavit Family Papers, ‘Talking Across: A Record of Many Conversations, his belief in the experience was changed. The bound volume ‘Talking Across’ contains conversations transcribed primarily by Lucy Lamont Gavit from spirits beyond the ‘veil’ to a small audience of friends and family who were present to witness the event. Conversations contained in the transcriptions include those with the oldest son of John Palmer Gavit and Lucy Lamont Gavit who was born and died in 1901. Also included are conversations with famous historical figures such as Michael Faraday, J.P. Morgan, Thomas Henry Huxley, James Whitcomb Riley, Lord William Thompson Kelvin, Walt Whitman, Swami Vivekananda, William Wordsworth, Robert Louis Stevenson, Pierre Curie, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The conversations ranged from scientific analysis of the spiritual world in relation to the physical world with the scientists, to the transcription of new poetry or prose from the deceased authors.

Erastus Dow Palmer, to whom a portion of the collection is related, was a prominent artist and sculptor, active from 1846-1904, who lived in Albany, New York. Walter Launt Palmer, son of Erastus Dow Palmer, was also a prominent Albany artist, active from 1872-1923.

Acquisition information:
Accession: # unidentified Accession Source/Date: Gift of Christopher West, October 2011
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research according to the regulations of the Albany Institute of History & Art without any additional restrictions.

Terms of access:

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the Albany Institute of History & Art Library will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Archivist/Librarian.

Location of this collection:
125 Washington Ave
Albany, NY 12210, United States
Link to repository site
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