James Michael Curley Collection
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of personal and political papers of James M. Curley. It includes correspondence, photographs, news clippings, drafts of his book, I’d do it again, political records and petitions. This collection is arranged into the following series: Correspondence and Records; Photographs; Audio and Visual Materials; Memorabilia; Scrapbooks; and Political Scrapbooks.
Series 1: Correspondence and Records: This series mostly holds of petitions and notes written on behalf of Curley in 1947 and correspondence regarding his book, I’d do it again, addressed to Curley and his editor, Samuel Nesson.
Series 2: Photographs: This series documents Curley political and personal life dating from circa 1879 to 1949. Of note, there are photographs of Curley with United States Presidents including John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry Truman; with American political figure such as Henry Cabot Lodge and Oliver Wendell Holmes; and with other well-known figure such as actors Clark Gable and Lillian Roth.
Series 3 Audio and Visual Materials: These materials mostly document Curley's political life but there are three home movies documenting his personal life including the wedding of his daughter, Mary. Additionall, there are documentaries from the 1980s and 1990s.
Series 4: Memorabilia: This series contains political cartoons and other items including a license plate from Puerto Rico.
Series 5: Scrapbooks: Eleven scrapbooks dating from 1903 to 1943 are found in this series. Highlights include a scrapbook documenting Mary Curley Donnelly's wedding in 1935 and a scrapbook containing clipings from La Notizia, an Italian daily newspaper.
Series 6: Political Scrapbooks: This series documents Curley’s political career through news clippings dating from 1913 to 1936. The series consists of 660 volumes of which 222 were microfilmed in 1962. These were digitized in 2013 and now may be found in CrossWorks (https://crossworks.holycross.edu/curley_scrapbooks/).
Dates
- Creation: 1913-1997
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
James Michael Curley, a controversial politician from Roxbury, MA, held a variety of positions throughout his career including four terms Mayor of Boston, one term as Governor of Masschuesetts and two terms as United States Congressman. He also served on the Boston Common Council, as a Representative in the Masschusetts State Legislature, as Alderman on the Boston City Council. He ran in 32 election campaigns throughout his political career beginning in 1897.
Curley, the son of Irish immigrants, was born on November 20, 1874. His father died when he was ten years old so Curley and his younger brother worked to supplement the family income. Curley left school at the age of fifteen to work in factories and as a delivery person. This introduced him to industry in Boston. His mother, Sarah Clancy Curley was very influential in his political beliefs, specifically his attitudes regarding poverty and political organizing. Curley married Mary H. Herlihy on June 27, 1906 and they had nine children. His personal life was rather tragic as he outlived his first wife and seven of his nine children. Only two sons outlined Curley. After his first wife died of cancer, he remarried to Gerturde Casey Dennis, a widowed mother with two sons, in 1937.
Curley died on November 12, 1958.
Extent
2.93 Cubic Feet (3 document boxes, 5 flat boxes, 3 volumes)
671 Volumes (671 scrapbook volumes)
Language of Materials
English
Acquisition Note
This collection was donated by James Michael Curley in 1958. It was facilitated by his son, Francis X. Curley, who was a member of the Holy Cross Jesuit Community at the time of donation.
Existence and Location of Copies
Materials from this collection have been digitized and may be found in Preservica. A selection of political scrapbooks have been digitized and may be found here in CrossWorks: https://crossworks.holycross.edu/curley_scrapbooks/.
Processing Information
Processing of the James Michael Curley Collection is ongoing.
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Status
- In Progress
- Date
- Fall 2001
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Edition statement
- Revised September 2019; March 2020
Repository Details
Part of the Distinctive Collections Repository