The Civil War Scrapbook of Captain William White Dorr

The Governor’s Academy Archives house the Civil War-era scrapbook of Captain William White Dorr, a Union Army Commander in the 121^st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. Captain Dorr was born in Philadelphia on October 31, 1837, the son of the Reverend Benjamin Dorr, D.D., Rector of the Christ Church, Philadelphia, and Esther Kettell Odin, daughter of John Odin, Esq., of Boston. Dorr’s paternal ancestors were some of the earliest settlers of Boston’s Roxbury section and of Salisbury, Massachusetts (the local Dalton family). On his maternal side, Dorr was a descendant of the Chief Justices Lynde (father and son) of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; the Reverend Increase Mather; the Reverend John Eliot, the “Apostle to the Indians”; and the Reverend William Walter, Rector of Christ Church, Boston.

Educated in Philadelphia, Dorr entered the army at age 25 and served in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and at Spottsylvania Court House, where he was killed in action on May 10, 1864. His remains were taken to Salisbury Point, Massachusetts, and interred with other family members in a cemetery near the bank of the Merrimac River. A mural tablet was erected in Christ Church, Philadelphia, as tribute to his patriotism and virtues.

Captain Dorr’s scrapbook holds a number of letters from the battlefield, journal entries, newspaper clippings, sketches (see below, with caption), pressed flowers, and memorabilia from the Civil War era. Many of the sketches—soldiers’ camp sites, officers and enlisted men, and maps—were drawn by Captain Dorr’s men and, combined with notes on troop movements, capture a feel for the life of soldier in this mid-19^th century period.

This is one of the many military-related items in The Governor’s Academy’s archival collection. For more information, contact Laurie DiModica, Archivist, at ldimodica@govacademy.org.

Governor Dummer Academy Work Squad Efforts, Part 2

The Fall 2004 issue of The Archon makes reference to the May 14, 1932 issue of this publication (see below, with related four photographs), in which the efforts of students engendered much-needed flood relief on campus:

“Senior Class Makes and Unusual Gift to School,” reports a headline in the May 14, 1932 issue of The Archon. Looking for a gift out of the ordinary, the class decided to volunteer its time to dig drainage in the southwest portion of the Morse Field to alleviate flooding problems. [The students] began digging on May 5 and finished the nine hundred foot system by the time the seniors graduated in June 1932. Several other projects followed over the next few years, including construction of a five-foot-high dam to form a hockey rink later referred to as Ingham Rink, and an outdoor board track made u of two 85-foot straightways connected by two semicircles banked at an angle of 20 degrees. In 1942, a new emphasis was placed on the work squad due to a serious shortage of labor in the vicinity of the school caused by wartime enlistments. Students were asked to do chores such as cleaning their dorm rooms, mopping their bathrooms, and picking up the classrooms.”

The academy's archives contain photographs and film of several other Work Squad projects, including the following:

-Cutting grass and raking leaves on the lawns and athletic fields.

-As previously noted, construction of a dam for the creation of Ingham Rink.

-Planting trees around the athletic field and other areas of campus.

-Building up of the embankment at the first base line on the baseball field.

-As previously noted, the construction of an outdoor wooden track.

-Filling 350 feet of ditch over a pipeline to one of the dorms.

-Picking 20 bushels of apples.

-Shoveling snow after heavy snowstorms.

Governor Dummer Academy Work Squad Efforts, Part 1

In the 1930s, the student body of Governor Dummer Academy participated in several campus improvement and maintenance projects that brought an outdoor wooden running track, a new skating rink, enlarged playing fields, and other additions to the academy. The laboring boys of the academy’s “Work Squad” can be seen, smiling and industrious, in several of the academy’s archival 16 mm films, as well as in photographs and articles in issues of The Archon now three-quarters of a century old (see below).

The June 20, 1936 issue of The Archon features a photograph of Dummer boys constructing the wooden track, accompanied by a brief commentary on the value of hard work and selflessness. The commentary, entitled “More Than An Education,” was submitted by one of The Archon’s Co-Editors at the time, Robert V. McMenimen.

McMenimen was a cum laude graduate of the Class of 1936 who captained the football team his Senior year and was involved in many committees and clubs. McMenimen’s commentary states the following:

“This year as in previous years the students of Governor Dummer Academy have shown a remarkable willingness to do their share in bringing about the completion of any task beneficial to the school. In the past the student body has been the main factor in constructing a drainage system for the athletic field, a hockey rink, and a board track. This year the boys’ aid in clearing snow from the paths and roads accounted for the speed with which this task was accomplished.

We hope that this spirit of student cooperation will continue to be a part of Governor Dummer for the years to come. It is truly a fine trait, and one that an ordinary education cannot instill within its students. Here at school the boys learn so thoroughly the imprudence of shirking work that in late life the desire to do a job well and completely will become a habit which is certain to prove an invaluable part of each boy’s character. We are proud of this spirit at Governor Dummer, for we sense it within us and realize that here we have gained something which is a long step toward success in the future. A man, not only willing but desirous of doing more than his share of labor, is one who will advance step by step in life until he has reached the culmination of his ambition, whatever it may be.”

A Thanksgiving Proclamation by William Dummer

While Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor, William Dummer issued three Thanksgiving Proclamations--the first in 1723--which is arguably the oldest proclamation to set the holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. Various sources indicate that Thanksgiving Proclamations had been issued prior to this date. Perhaps the most commonly cited example is that of the proclamation issued by the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts on June 20, 1676. This Thanksgiving proclamation identified June 29, 1676 as a day of "Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour, many Particulars of which mercy might be Instanced, but we doubt not those who are sensible of God's Afflictions, have been as diligent to espy him returning to us; and that the Lod may behold us as a People offering Praise and thereby glorifying Him; the Council doth commend it to the Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being perswaded [sic] by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and soulds [sic] as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ."

Such proclamations, extoling the virtues of being thankful and praising God, were not uncommon through the 17th and 18th centuries, but the date of the first official proclamation to set the date as the last Thursday in November may in fact be the 1723 Thanksgiving Proclamation by William Dummer. The December 1939 issue of The Archon includes an image of this proclamation with the note that, "To ascertain the authenticity of the proclamation considerable research was done. With the aid of Mr. Charles Taylor, Jr., one of the Trustees of the Academy, the document was checked upon by the Archives Division of the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth and by the Massachusetts Historical Society. It was finally established that, not only is the document authentic, but that [Acting] Governor Dummer issued three others between 1723 and 1726."

The text of this proclamation can be read above, but the original document is housed in the Pilgrim Hall Museum at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Fencing at Governor Dummer Academy, 1932-1935

In 1935, The Milestone reported on the arrival of the academy’ first season of Fencing, with its 20-member squad (plus manager) picking up their masks and epees under young teacher Joseph Dana Allen, Jr., a 1931 Harvard graduate and past member of the Harvard Fencing Team.

“At the beginning of the winter term, a new sport, fencing, was inaugurated under the guidance of Mr. Allen, one of this year’s new masters, who was a former member of the Harvard Fencing Team and, in the Intercollegiate Matches of 1930, finished third. Just prior to the beginning of the season, Mr. Allen arranged an exhibition for the students in which several of the outstanding fencers in New England participated. Among them were Rene Peroy, fencing coach at Harvard; Edward and Everett Lane, national champions in 1929 and now members of the Boston Athletic Club; Mr. James Parker, also of the B.A.A.; Captain Robert Lawson, Gilbert Kerlin, Thomas Moran, and John Hurd, all of the Harvard Fencing Team. During an intermission Mr. Everett Lane gave a brief account of fencing, explaining the types of instruments used and something concerning the rules. The result of this exhibition was a great increase in the interest in fencing; two days later the squad was the second largest at the academy.

Despite the fact that it is said to take three years to make a fencer, the boys developed rapidly and, with daily practice, made very satisfactory progress. Although they were almost all mere beginners, toward the end of the term they showed such an advance that Mr. Allen was confident enough to take a team of five to compete in an informal contest with the more experienced Andover team. The team was defeated, but it made a creditable showing, taking five of the fourteen bouts, the final score being 9-5 in Andover’s favor.

There was such an interest in the sport that Mr. Allen took a group of the best fencers into Boston to witness the finals in the Olympic Fencing Competition at the Boston Arena. The high-light [sic] of the evening, in the minds of most of the boys, was the exhibition saber bout in which the contestants pursued each other all over the floor, seeking to cut the plume from the top of their opponent’s helmet.

At the end of the season, a tournament was arranged to decide who were the best fencers. At first a ladder tournament was organized, with the men arranged according to their ability as Mr. Allen rated them. Any contestant was able to challenge any two entries above him, and in this manner many were able to rise higher. After four days of this, four strips were drawn up, each having four men. These fought a round robin with the others in their strip, and, in the end, the four strip-winners fought a final series of bouts. The four strip-winners were Dix Robbins, Hugo Poisson, Harmon Hall, and John Healy. Of these, Hall and Poisson received first and second places, respectively, in the finals.

On Monday evening, March 14^th, during the Athletic rally, the awards were distributed by Mr. Allen. These prizes, which were supplied through the kindness of the American Fencers League, were a pair of foils for the winner, and a single foil for the runner-up. –C.F.S [likely Colin Francis Soule of Passaic, New Jersey, and a member of the 1932 Fencing Squad]”

The Fencing Squad participated in tournaments in each of its four seasons, after which it appears to have been disbanded. Below are pictures of the first Fencing Squad in 1932, the last Fencing Squad (in 1935), and an action shot from the fencers of 1934-1935.

The Governor's Academy Archives Posts Digitized Items on the Digital Commonwealth

The Archives of The Governor’s Academy has expanded access to some of its digitized historical materials through the Digital Commonwealth of Massachusetts (DCM). The DCM is a Web portal and repository service for online cultural materials held by Massachusetts libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives. The portal facilitates searching and browsing member institutions’ digital assets, including manuscripts, images, historical documents and sound recordings. The DCM site, www.digitalcommonwealth.org, currently houses more than 20,000 searchable records.

The Governor’s Academy Archives has posted digitized copies of two items of historical significance: The Will of Lieutenant Governor William Dummer, which provided for the establishment of the school, and the academy’s Incorporation Charter of 1782, signed by both John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Posting of these items to the DCM repository was made possible by a grant from the Wilson Foundation. These items can be found by searching the term “Dummer Academy” on the DCM’s homepage.

Inclusion of The Governor's Academy materials in the DCM repository will allow researchers beyond the academy community to access its historical documents, and it provides an avenue for increasing awareness of the school as it approaches its 250th anniversary. The Governor's Academy Archives continues to seek funding sources for additional digitization efforts. For more information on the academy's Archives, please contact Laurie DiModica at ldimodica@govsacademy.org or at 978-499-3347.

A Gift of Appreciation

The Governor's Academy Archives recently received a donation from Duby McDowell, whose father, Edward Irvine McDowell, Jr., was a 1940 graduate of the academy and was involved in many activities while a student here.


Duby's gift--an envelope imprinted with a sketch of the Little Red School House--was mailed from South Byfield in 1938, the year in which the academy celebrated its 175th anniversary and in which the Little Red School House underwent restoration. While this imprint, as well as the 3¢ "Constitution Sesquicentennial" stamp that adorns the stamp's corner, make this gift interesting, equally valuable is the information contained in Duby's note that accompanied the envelope (below). This note reveals details of Edward McDowell's life that add color to the Archives' information on academy alumni: He was the grateful recipient of scholarship funds from the academy, went on to serve in World War II, and graduated from Yale University. He also shared "fond memories" of Governor Dummer Academy with his family.


We appreciate the effort made by alumni, their families, and friends, to bring these (and like items) to our attention!

Laurie DiModica
Manager of the Archives
1 Elm Street, Byfield, MA 01922
ldimodica@govsacademy.org
978-499-3347