Martha's Vineyard Museum
A Finding Aid to the Florence Kern Research Papers
Table of Contents
Descriptive Summary
| Repository | Martha's Vineyard Museum Gale Huntington Research Library 59 School Street P.O. Box 1310 Edgartown, MA 02539 (508) 627-4441 |
|---|---|
| Call Number | RU 450 |
| Creator | Kern, Florence, 1902-1997 |
| Title | Florence Kern research papers |
| Date | 1863, 1958-1995 |
| Extent | 3 boxes and 13 oversize folders (1.633 cubic feet) |
| Language | The materials are in English. |
| Abstract | The collection consists of research notes, drafts, newspaper clippings, and photocopies accumulated by Florence Kern between 1974 and 1995. Florence Kern, 1902-1997, was a writer and summer resident of the Vineyard, known for her extensive research on the early history of the United States Coast Guard. |
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use and Reproduction Restrictions
Requests to reproduce material from this collection should be directed to the library's staff. Reproduction fees may apply.
Preferred Citation
Martha's Vineyard Museum, RU 450, Florence Kern Research Papers.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Florence Kern between 1981 and 1991. Accession no. 1978.023, 1981.002, 1983.001, 1983.029, 1991.073. For material that falls outside of these dates the immediate source of acquisition and date of accession is unknown.
Bibliography
McGovern, Thomas L. "At Weschler's, a used book with a postcard inside has an unexpected epilogue - Washington Post." Featured Articles From The Washington Post. http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-08-10/entertainment/35494025_1_military-officers-antique-dealers-books (accessed August 14, 2013).
Publication Information
Martha's Vineyard Museum
Gale Huntington Research Library59 School Street
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA 02539
(508) 627-4441
Revision Description
Addition to the Collection; Addition of Box 3, Folders 8-13 [CJ]. August 2015
Processing Information
Finding aid prepared by Arielle Petrovich in August 2013 with assistance from Lara J. Ullman and machine-encoded by Nathaniel Janick in March 2015.
Creation of this finding aid was sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.Related Materials
Related Material
See also, RU 330, William Cooke Pease Collection.
Controlled Access Headings
Genre(s)
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Maps
- Photocopies
- Photographs
- Research notes
Geographic Name(s)
- Cape Poge (Mass.)
- Chappaquiddick Island (Mass.)
- Edgartown (Mass.)
- Holmes Hole (Mass.)
- Martha's Vineyard (Mass.)
Personal Name(s)
- Beetle, Henry W.
- Coffin, Sirson
- Cooke, Thomas, Sr.
- Cooke, Thomas, Jr.
- Darrow, Ira
- Luce, Lorenzo
- Marchant, Charles M.
- Marchant, Cornelius B. (Cornelius Beetle), 1815-1896
- Norton, Constant
- Norton, Howes, Jr.
- Norton, John
- Osborn, Abraham, approximately 1833-
- Pease, Cyrus
- Pease, John H. (John Harper)
- Pease, Joseph
- Pease, William Cooke, 1819-1865
- Thaxter, Leavitt, 1789-1863
- Vinson, John
- Worth, Henry Pease
Subject(s)
- Customs houses--1860-1870
- Lighthouse
- Lighthouse keepers
- Revenue-Cutter Service (U.S.)
- United States. Coast Guard
- United States. Revenue-Cutter Service--1890-1900
- United States. Revenue-Cutter Service--History--19th century
Biography/Historical Note
Florence Kern was born April 6, 1902 to Henry and Maude Pfalzgraf. Florence had one sister, Beatrice Pfalzgraf Darlington. After graduating from Wellesley College in 1923, Florence made crossword puzzles and wrote short stories under the pseudonym, "Florence Leighton." In 1935, her short story, "Heaven's Gate" was adapted into the motion picture film "Our Little Girl" starring Shirley Temple. Her murder mystery novel, "As Strange A Maze" was published in the same year. Sometime after 1945, Florence began to summer on Martha's Vineyard with her husband, Clarence Kern and children.
While on the Martha's Vineyard, Florence conducted research on the history of the United States Coast Guard, and its predecessor, the Revenue Cutter Service. Between 1960 and 1979, Florence went on to write a series of books on the first ten revenue cutters. In 1982, Florence published the book, Captain William Cooke Pease, U.S. Coast Guard pioneer: From sail to steam, from East to West (1982). The Coast Guard Historian's office published two more of her books, U.S. Revenue Cutters of the Civil War (1990) and Traditions, 200 years of history (1990). On April 29, 1997, Florence died of pneumonia in Potomac, Maryland. She was 95 years old.
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of research papers accumulated by Florence Kern between 1980 and 1995. The research papers largely relate to articles and books written by Florence Kern. The collection also contains a copy of the book, Aboriginal Settlement Patterns in the Northeast (1973), two copies of her own book, Captain Pease U.S. Coast Guard Pioneer: From Sail to Steam-From East to West (1982), and copies of her U.S. Revenue Cutters.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by topic and in loose chronological order thereunder. Material added to the collection in August 2015 from the archival survey begins at Box 3, Folder 8 and is arranged
Collection Inventory
| Box | Folder | |||
Aboriginal Settlement Patterns in the Northeast, by William A. Ritchie and Robert E. Funk. Albany, NY: The University of the State of New York, 1973 | 1 | 1 | ||
Early Settlers on Martha's Vineyard, 1990-1991, undated | 1 | 2 | ||
Early Settlers on Martha's Vineyard, 1991-1994, undated | 1 | 3 | ||
Customs Collection Reference Materials [1 of 2 folders], 1982-1989, undated | 1 | 4 | ||
Customs Collection Reference Materials [2 of 2 folders], 1982-1989, undated | 1 | 5 | ||
Customs Collection Reference Materials, 1989, undated | 1 | 6 | ||
Customs Collection Reference Materials, 1986, 1990-1993, undated | 1 | 7 | ||
General History of Customs Collection, 1980, 1986, 1995, undated | 1 | 8 | ||
Early Customs and the First Collectors, 1973, 1980-1988, undated | 1 | 9 | ||
Early Customs and the First Collectors, 1985-1990, undated | 2 | 1 | ||
Customs Collection from 1842-1856, undated | 2 | 2 | ||
Customs Collection from 1842-1856 (Loose papers), undated | 2 | 3 | ||
Customs Collection from 1856-1870, 1986, 1990, undated | 2 | 4 | ||
Customs Collection from 1856-1870 (Loose papers), 1992 | 2 | 5 | ||
The Last Customs Collectors, 1990-1994, undated | 2 | 6 | ||
The Last Customs Collectors, undated | 2 | 7 | ||
Captain Pease U.S. Coast Guard Pioneer: From Sail to Steam-From East to West, by Florence Kern. Bethesda, MD: Alised Enterprises, 1982 NoteThere are two copies. | 2 | 8 | ||
William C. Pease, 1986 | 2 | 9 | ||
William C. Pease, undated | 2 | 10 | ||
William C. Pease, undated | 2 | 11 | ||
William C. Pease, 1983, 1987 | 2 | 12 | ||
Cyrus Pease, undated | 2 | 13 | ||
Revenue Cutters in Wartime, 1990, undated | 2 | 14 | ||
The Old Print Shop Portfolio, 1958 | 2 | 14 | ||
Historical Pictures Project, undated | 3 | 1 | ||
Notes from the Long Room, London, England, 1974 | 3 | 2 | ||
Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1988-1991 | 3 | 3 | ||
Miscellaneous, 1982, 1986, undated | 3 | 4 | ||
Miscellaneous, 1963, 1982-1988, undated | 3 | 5 | ||
Miscellaneous, 1980, 1988-1989, undated | 3 | 6 | ||
Miscellaneous, 1986, 1990, undated | 3 | 7 | ||
Edgartown papers and research materials, 1879-1880, undated | 3 | 8 | ||
U.S. Revenue Cutter, 1902 | 3 | 9 | ||
U.S. Revenue Cutters, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1979 | 3 | 10 | ||
U.S. Revenue Cutters, 1975, 1976, 1978 | 3 | 11 | ||
U.S. Revenue Cutters, 1977, 1978 | 3 | 12 | ||
William Pease research materials, 1988, undated | 3 | 13 | ||