Charles Augustus Strong papers, 1877-1939, 1961

Summary

Creator:
Strong, Charles Augustus (1862-1940), James, William (1842-1910), and Santayana, George (1863-1952)
Extent:
3.8 Cubic Feet 9 letter document boxes and 2 half-letter document boxes
Language:
English .

Background

Scope and content:

The Charles A. Strong Papers document the thought of philosopher and psychologist Charles Strong (1862-1940) and his friendships with George Santayana (1863-1952), William James (1842-1910), and a circle of academic philosophers known as the "critical realists". The critical realists worked within the school of American pragmatism originated by Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) and popularized by William James. Also present in the collection are two letters from American novelist, Edith Wharton (1924, n.d.) and a small group of letters (1921-1935) to Strong from the English writer, Violet Paget (Vernon Lee, 1856-1935), documenting the close friendship between the two expatriates. The papers span the years 1877 to 1939, but the bulk of the material dates between 1906 and 1939. The collection was transferred to the Rockefeller Archive Center in 1994 by the donor.

Little information is available in these papers about Strong's personal life. There are scattered references to his wife, Bessie Rockefeller, and her illnesses, but there is no correspondence from her in this collection. Strong's relationship with the Rockefeller family can only be surmised from these documents. There are two letters from his father-in-law, John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (1927, 1933); the first relates to the disposition of Bessie Rockefeller's estate, the second to an allowance for Margaret, Strong's daughter. A 1916 letter from Rockefeller to Strong's father, Augustus H. Strong expresses the wish that the Strongs resettle in America, "instead of isolating themselves from their family, and making other connections with strangers." The bulk of Senior's correspondence with Charles and Margaret Strong is located in the Rockefeller Family Archives, Record Group 1, John D. Rockefeller Papers, Correspondence Series-Personal. Outgoing correspondence from the letterbooks is available on microfilm. There is incoming correspondence from Bessie Rockefeller Strong (1891-1894), Charles Strong (1886-1894), and Augustus Strong (1879-1894). In Record Group 2, (Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller), Series H, Friends and Services (Friends and Relations section), there is one folder of correspondence (1886-1911) from both John D. Rockefeller, Sr. and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and their associates to Charles and Bessie (1886-1911). Also available in Record Group 2, in the personal papers of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., is correspondence (1881, 1886-1925) between John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Augustus and Kate Strong, Charles' sister. In the Strong papers described here, George Santayana's letters indirectly provide information about Margaret Strong and her husband, George de Cuevas, as Santayana remained a lifelong friend to the Strongs.

Biographical / historical:

Charles Augustus Strong, a philosopher of the American school of critical realists, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts on November 28, 1862. He was the eldest of six children born to the Rev. Augustus Hopkins Strong and Harriet Savage Strong. In 1865 Rev. Strong, a Baptist minister, became pastor of First Church in Cleveland, Ohio. During the years 1865 to 1872, the Strongs grew well acquainted with the family of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., their fellow parishioners. In 1872 Rev. Strong was named President of the Rochester Theological Seminary in his hometown of Rochester, New York. It was there that the young Charles Strong received his early schooling. In the fall of 1877, Strong enrolled at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. He excelled in the study of Latin and Greek, played football and baseball, and served as editor of the school paper. In July 1881, Strong sailed for Europe to attend the Gutersloh Gymnasium in Gutersloh, Germany. On returning to America in 1883, he entered the University of Rochester, where he obtained his A.B. in 1884 and the LL.D. in 1919. Fulfilling a long-standing desire, he enrolled in Harvard College in the fall of 1884, graduating with a second A.B. in 1885.

Strong's Harvard experience proved to be a turning point. He came under the influence of the pragmatist philosopher and psychologist William James, and with his fellow student and life-long friend, George Santayana, founded the Harvard Philosophical Club. After a year (1885-86) at Rochester Theological Seminary, Strong embarked for Berlin on a James Walker Fellowship from Harvard, which by mutual agreement, he shared with Santayana. By this time, Strong had suffered a loss of faith and rejected the ministerial career which his father had envisioned for him. In Berlin, he studied psychology, philosophy, and physiology with professors Karl Stumpf and Friedrich Paulsen.

From 1887 to 1889, Strong served as part-time instructor in philosophy at Cornell University, then returned to Europe for studies at Berlin, Paris and Freiburg in 1889-90. On March 22, 1889, he married Bessie Rockefeller (1866-1906), the eldest daughter of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. They had one child, Margaret Strong de Cuevas (1897-1985).

In 1890 Strong became a docent at Clark University and in 1892 was appointed associate professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, where he remained until 1895. He served as lecturer in psychology at Columbia University from 1895 until 1903 and as professor of psychology from 1903 to 1910.

In 1903, Bessie Strong's failing health necessitated the Strongs' transfer to Paris, where Strong remained on leave without pay from Columbia University. After his wife's death on November 14, 1906, Strong settled in Fiesole, Italy in the villa known as "Le Balze." There, he raised his daughter and continued to study, write, and receive visitors. Strong died on January 23, 1940 in Fiesole.

Strong's writings include "Why the Mind Has A Body" (1903), "The Origins of Consciousness" (1918), "Essays in Critical Realism" (1920), "The Wisdom of the Beasts" (1921), "A Theory of Knowledge" (1923), "Essays on the Natural Origin of the Mind" (1930), and "A Creed for Sceptics" (1936).

Acquisition information:
Strong papers were donated to RAC in 1994.
Arrangement:

The Strong papers are arranged in five series:

Series 1 - Personal Correspondence; Series 2 - Professional Correspondence; Series 3 - Writings; Series 4 - Writings of Others; Series 5 - Miscellaneous Papers

Within the correspondence series, letters have been retained in their original order, in runs of Incoming and Outgoing correspondence. Series 3 - Writings is arranged alphabetically by title. Series 4 - Writings of Others is arranged alphabetically by author. In Series 5 - Miscellaneous Papers, materials are arranged alphabetically by type of material.

Physical description:
4 cubic ft.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Philosophy and religion
Religion

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. Brittle or damaged items are available at the discretion of RAC. Researchers interested in accessing digital media (floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, etc.) or audiovisual material (audio cassettes, VHS, etc.) in this collection must use an access surrogate. The original items may not be accessed because of preservation concerns. To request an access surrogate be made, or if you are unsure if there is an access surrogate, please contact an archivist.

Terms of access:

The Rockefeller Archive Center has title, copyright, and literary rights in the collection, in so far as it holds them, and has authority to grant permission to cite and publish archival material from the collection.

Location of this collection:
15 Dayton Avenue
Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591, United States
Link to repository site
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