TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Contents

Arrangement

Restrictions

Index Terms

Administrative Information

Detailed Description of the Collection

Guide to Dillingham Family papers,
1858-1958

Biographical Note

Three Dillingham brothers "came to Salem with Winthrop in 1630" from Leicestershire in England. A member of the fourth generation, Paul Dillingham (1799-1891) lived in Waterbury, Vermont where he was a member of the State Bar, president of the bank, and later governor of the state. He had four sons and a daughter by his wife Julia Carpenter Dillingham.

One of their sons, Edwin (1839-1864), a captain in the Union Army, was killed at the battle of Winchester. Another son, William Paul, became a U. S. Senator. He served as chairman of the Committee on Immigration for several years and was an influential member of Congress. A third son, Frank (1848-?), moved to Texas where he was in the railroad business.

After serving as a colonel in the Union Army, Charles Dillingham moved to New Orleans where he stayed until 1885. At that time he moved to Houston as receiver of Houston and Texas Central Railway. When the South Texas National Bank was formed, he became first vice-president and later was promoted to president, then chairman of the board. In 1863 Charles married Frances M. Cutter of Cleveland, Ohio, and they had two children, a son Edwin Kirke, and a daughter Mary Pauline.

Pauline, or "Pucky" as her friends and family often called her, remained unmarried and devoted most of her time to her brother's family. She also wrote both poetry and fiction and had several pieces published. In poor health much of her life, Pauline usually spent summers at a family home in Camden, Maine escaping the stifling Houston weather. The rest of the year she lived with Edwin and his family in Houston and occasionally took trips abroad. In 1959, she and her brother donated their stately family home on Austin Street to the Child Guidance Council.

Pauline's brother, Edwin K. Dillingham, married Charlotte (Lottie) Parker, and they had two children, Elizabeth Randon and Charles. Elizabeth went to School in the east and married James Hart of New York City where the couple lived. Charles went to Yale and married Barbara Kibler with whom he had a son, Charles.

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Scope and Contents

The collection of the Dillingham Family Papers, consisting of approximately 900 items or 1.25 linear feet, follows the history of a prominent Texas family from 1858 to 1958. Correspondence, manuscripts, printed material, photographs, journals, poetry, and newspaper clippings show the life style of a family who moved into Texas during the prosperous era of the late nineteenth century and played an important role in developing both the social and economic framework of Houston.

The main portion of the collection is correspondence between various family members, with most written by the children and grandchildren of Charles K. Dillingham, who settled in Houston and played an integral part in the development of a predecessor bank of the Texas Commerce Bank. He, his wife Frances Cutter Dillingham, and their two children, Edwin K. and Mary Pauline, were very active socially, and the Dillingham name remains important in Houston.

Originally from Vermont, some of the members of the Dillingham family remained there and contributed to the prosperity of that state. Paul Dillingham was governor of Vermont, and his son William served as a United States Senator for several years. Both the personal and business papers of these men are included in the collection.

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Arrangement

The papers are arranged chronologically with respect to the individuals involved. Most letters are filed according to the person who wrote them, unless there are only one or two from an individual, in which case the letter is filed according to whom it was sent.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions; this material is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish from the Dillingham Family Papers must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

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Index Terms

Subjects (Persons)

Subjects (Places)

Subjects

Formats

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Dillingham Family Papers, 1858-1958, MS 257, Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University

Acquisition Information

The collection was a gift of the Dillingham family on 3 June 1966.

Processed by Kathy Cook, June 1977.

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Detailed Description of the Collection