George Henry Hood papers, 1857-1895

Navigate the Collection

Using These Materials Teaser

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke...
More about accessing and using these materials...

Summary

Creator:
Hood, George Henry
Extent:
0.5 Linear Feet
88 Items
Language:
English.
Collection ID:
RL.00572

Background

Scope and content:

The papers of George Henry Hood span the years 1857 to 1895, although the bulk of the material falls in the period 1861 to 1863. It consists primarily of correspondence between Hood and his wife "Etta" written while he was travailing on business selling rubber goods for a variety of firms, including the Beverly Rubber Company of Beverly, Mass., and the Rubber Clothing Company of New York and Boston. There are also a few letters from other family members and business associates and some miscellaneous items. The letters indicate that Hood's travels took him to Philadelphia (1861), St. Louis (1862), New York (1862-1863), Washington, D.C. (1861-1863), and other places. Letters from St. Louis and Washington, in particular, contain some observations on Civil War activity in those places.

The correspondence is primarily of a personal nature, dealing with family matters and the mutual concerns of a husband and wife about being separated during his business trips. A few letters relate to Hood's daughter Helen.

Biographical / historical:

George Henry Hood was a resident of Chelsea, Essex County, Mass., and a rubber goods salesman and businessman during the latter half of the 19th century. Prior to the Civil War, Hood was employed at Winslow, Hood and Co. of Boston, a firm which wholesaled boots, shoes, and shoemaker's tools.

During at least part of the Civil War (1861) Hood was a travelling sales representative for Rubber Clothing Company, a firm based in Boston and New York that specialized in providing military equipment. He also sold rubber goods for a number of other firms during the war while travelling to St. Louis, New York, Washington, D.C., and other places.

After the war, Hood went into various other business ventures before founding the Boston Rubber Company in 1877, which eventually merged with the United States Rubber Company in 1892.

Hood married Henrietta ("Etta") Janvrin in Sentember 1859. They had several children, including Helen, a musical child prodigy who became a composer. In 1896, two of Hood's sons, Arthur Needham Hood (1868-1950) and F. C. Hood formed the Hood Rubber Company in Boston where Hood retained an office at least until 1912.

Acquisition information:
The papers of George Henry Hood, businessman and salesman of Chelsea, Essex County, Mass., were acquired by the Rubenstein Library through three separate purchases, 1974-1986.
Processing information:

Processed by: Janie C. Morris

Completed February 18, 1987

Encoded by Stephen Douglas Miller

Arrangement:

The papers of George Henry Hood are organized into a single, chronologically arranged file of correspondence. Miscellaneous items are so few and insignificant that they have been interfiled with the correspondence. Preceding that file is an information folder containing biographical information about several of the correspondents found in the collection, including Helen Hood, and photocopies of pages from several Boston city directories indicating Hood's business interests in that area.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Subjects:
Businessmen
Rubber goods
Names:
Hood, Helen, fl. 1890s
Hood, George Henry
Places:
Missouri -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Washington (D.C.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Massachusetts -- Commerce

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The status of copyright interests in these papers is unknown. For further information, see the section on copyright in the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Before you visit:
Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], The Papers of George Henry Hood, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.