Guide to the Collection
Funding for the digitization of this collection and the creation of preservation microfilm was provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act grant as administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
Representative digitized documents from this collection:
This collection consists of records collected by Rose Dabney Forbes as an officer of the Massachusetts Peace Society, the American Peace Society, the Massachusetts branch of the Woman's Peace Party, and the World Peace Foundation. It documents her participation in the American peace movement during the early 20th century.
Rose Dabney Forbes
Rose Dabney Forbes, born in 1864, was the daughter of Samuel Wyllys Dabney, U.S. Consul to the Azores, 1872-92. A resident of Milton, Massachusetts, Mrs. Forbes was married to J. Malcolm Forbes, 1847-1904, a businessman. She was involved in many peace organizations including the American Peace Society; the Massachusetts Peace Society, of which she was on the Board of Directors; the Massachusetts branch of the Woman's Peace Party, of which she was chairman; and the World Peace Foundation, of which she was a member of the Advisory Council. Among the other organizations of concern to her were the Boston League of Women Voters, the Milton Women's Club, and the Women's National Committee for Law Enforcement. Rose Dabney Forbes died in 1947.
American Peace Society
The American Peace Society was established in May of 1828 when the peace societies of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania merged to become a national organization. Most local societies also became affiliated, with varying degrees of autonomy, from the national office.
Massachusetts Peace Society
Founded in 1911 as a branch of the American Peace Society, the Massachusetts Peace Society remained active through the conclusion of the World War I. This group was unrelated to the Massachusetts Peace Society that operated from 1815-1845.
Woman's Peace Party/League for Permanent Peace
The Massachusetts Branch of the Woman's Peace Party was established in January of 1915 for the purpose of promoting peace among nations. In 1918 it voted to change its name to the League for Permanent Peace, and broke its affiliation with the National Woman's Peace Party. The League was disbanded in 1920.
World Peace Foundation
In 1910, textbook magnate Edwin Ginn founded the International School of Peace in Boston, renamed the World Peace Foundation shortly thereafter. Though many peace organizations already existed early in the 20th century, most concentrated their efforts on theory and ideology. The World Peace Foundation, conversely, was founded with the express purpose of educating and mobilizing public opinion toward the cause of peace through their publications.
The Rose Dabney Forbes papers consist of 3 document boxes and 2 pamphlet boxes dating from 1902-1935. The papers document her participation in the American peace movement during the early 20th century. The collection contains records collected by Forbes as an officer of the Massachusetts Peace Society, the American Peace Society, the Massachusetts branch of the Woman's Peace Party, and the World Peace Foundation. The records of the organizations in which she was involved include governance documents, meeting minutes, and correspondence, as well as printed materials. Topics of interest to these groups included the Panama Canal Act of 1912, the celebration of 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain, World War I, and the formation of the League of Nations. The collection also includes addresses by Rose Dabney Forbes and others, as well as printed ephemera. Henry S. Haskins, Jay William Hudson, James L. Tryon, and Edwin D. Mead were involved in one or more of Rose Dabney Forbes' organizations and the collection also includes their correspondence and addresses.
Gift of the China Trade Museum, Milton, Mass., 1984. Given to the China Trade Museum by Mrs. Copley Amory.
The collection is also available on microfilm, P-814, 6 reels.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Massachusetts Peace Society records, 1911-1929digital content
Arranged chronologically by record type.
This series contains the records of the Massachusetts Peace Society, divided into two subseries. The first subseries includes documents relating to governance, correspondence, membership lists, meeting minutes, and annual meeting reports. Governance documents include the constitution and by-laws, Work and Plans of the Society, 1913, and descriptions of work done by the Society. Correspondents include Rose Dabney Forbes as well as other officers of the Society including Henry S. Haskins, Jay William Hudson, and James L. Tryon. Topics range from administrative matters concerning the organization to the Society's view on issues including world peace and the peace movement, international relations, and the Panama Canal Act of 1912. The second subseries contains printed ephemera including membership applications, invitations to meetings, lectures, and dinners, blank letterhead, and Rose Dabney Forbes' certificate of life membership to the Society. See also Series V for addresses delivered for the Massachusetts Peace Society.
A. Administrative records, 1911-1929digital content
B. Printed Ephemera, 1911-1918digital content
II. American Peace Society records, 1908-1918digital content
Arranged chronologically by record type.
This series contains the records of the American Peace Society including governance documents, correspondence, meeting minutes, annual reports, constitution, articles of incorporation, and other documents. Correspondents include Rose Dabney Forbes as well as other officers of the Society including James L. Tryon. Topics include the celebration of 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain, and the extension of the Society into state branches.
III. Woman's Peace Party / League for Permanent Peace records, 1915-1920digital content
Arranged chronologically by record type.
The Massachusetts Branch of the Woman's Peace Party, chaired by Rose Dabney Forbes, was established in 1915. In 1918, it voted to change its name to the League for Permanent Peace, and broke its affiliation with the National Woman's Peace Party. The League was disbanded in 1920. This series contains the records of the Massachusetts Branch of the Woman's Peace Party including correspondence, meeting minutes, and annual meeting reports. The correspondence includes letters regarding Rose Dabney Forbes' views on the peace movement and the design of a celluloid pin for the organization.
IV. World Peace Foundation correspondence, 1911-1913digital content
This series contains the correspondence of the World Peace Foundation relating to work done in connection with the Massachusetts Peace Society. Correspondents include Rose Dabney Forbes and Edwin D. Mead, chief director. Included are a number of letters concerning Edwin D. Mead's views on the Third Hague Conference, 1913, and Winston Churchill's speech, 1913, on the same subject. Also included is a letter from Mead to Forbes explaining the work done by the Foundation.
V. Addresses, 1911-1935digital content
Arranged chronologically by author.
This series contains addresses by Rose Dabney Forbes and others. Included in this series are descriptions of a stereopticon lecture renouncing war given by Henry S. Haskins for the Massachusetts Peace Society in 1916 and 1917, and another stereopticon lecture given by James L. Tryon on the 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain in 1914. Also included are addresses by Jay William Hudson, a lecturer for the Massachusetts Peace Society. Topics of the addresses include peace and war, international relations, military training for boys in public schools and the Boy Scouts, and eulogies for two officers of the Massachusetts Peace Society, Samuel Billings Capen, president, and William A. Mowry, a member of the Board of Directors.
VI. Political resolutions, 1902-1932digital content
This series contains various political resolutions pertaining to war and the peace movement during the time of America's entrance in the First World War and the years surrounding it. Papers include resolutions and telegrams sent to members of the United States government as well as political statements and press releases. Topics include the formation of a League of Nations, the Panama Canal Act, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, and numerous appeals for volunteers in the peace movement. Also included in this series are bills and resolutions from the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.
VII. Ephemera, 1902-1921digital content
Arranged by format
This series contains miscellaneous items collected by Rose Dabney Forbes during her work with various peace societies. Included are programs and leaflets; political songs, poems, and prayers; and newspaper clippings.
Materials Removed from the Collection
Two photographs, a portrait of Ainsworth Rand Spofford, Librarian of Congress, and family, and a photograph of an American Peace Society broadside, were removed to the Rose Dabney Forbes photographs.
A Massachusetts Peace Society button was removed to the MHS museum collection.
A broadside, "After the War, What?," advertising Jay William Hudson lectures sponsored by the Massachusetts Peace Society, Feb. [ca. 1918] was removed to the MHS broadside collection.
Rose Dabney Forbes papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.