Lathrop Family Collection

Collection — Box: SC093-LATH-001

Identifier: SC093-LATH

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Lathrop Family Collection contains materials pertaining to George and Rose Lathrop including correspondence, manuscripts, writings, newspaper clippings, ephemera and photographs. The majority of the collection is correspondence and there are letters written by Rose and George. Additionally, there are a few letters written by Rose after she founded the religious order, Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer and was known as Mother Mary Alphonsa. Materials date from 1870 to 1910.

Dates

Creation: circa 1878-1906

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions

Conditions Governing Use

Materials believed to be under copyright or other restrictions are available for limited noncommercial, educational and personal use only, or for fair use as defined by United States copyright law and with proper citation. Please note that the College of the Holy Cross may not hold the rights to all items in this collection. Users assume responsibility for identifying all copyright holders and for determining whether permission is needed to make any use of the content. For permission under rights held by the College, please contact archives@holycross.edu.

Biographical Note

George Parsons Lathrop, American poet, novelist and newspaper editor, was born on August 25, 1851. After attending Columbia Grammar School in New York, NY, he was sent to study in Dresden in 1867. There, he met his wife, Rose Hawthorne, the daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne. They were married in 1871 and had a son in 1876. The family returned to New York and George enrolled at Columbia College Law School. He completed one term. After practicing law for a year, he began his literary career. George was associate editor of the Atlantic Monthly, editor of the Boston Courier, literary editor for the New York Star. Additionally, wrote and edited books such as Afterglow and Somebody Else. He separated from his wife due to his alcoholism in 1896. George died on April 19, 1898.

Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, American writer and religious leader, was born on May 20, 1851 to Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne. After her father’s death in 1864, her family moved to Germany and then to England. She met her husband in Dresden and the couple married in 1871. In 1876, they had a son, Francis. Like her father and her husband, Rose was a writer and her novel, Miss Dilettante was serialized in the Boston Courier during George’s editorship. The couple’s relationship became difficult when George developed alcoholism following the death of their son in 1881. They eventually separated in 1896 and soon after, Rose trained as a nurse at the New York Cancer Hospital. In 1900, Rose founded a new religious order, Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer and became the first Mother Superior. Her name was Mother Mary Alphonsa but she was commonly known as Mother Rose. This order exists today but it is called the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. Rose died on July 9, 1926.