The Monday Evening Club was founded in 1869 as a men’s literary Club and has preserved its original character to this day. Among some of its early members were the Reverend Horace Bushnell, the Reverend Calvin Stowe, James Hammond Trumbull, Mark Twain, and Charles Dudley Warner.

Unfortunately, of the papers of these early members only Trumbull’s first paper to the Club, which was the very first Club paper, is preserved at the Connecticut Historical Society with a copy in the Club archives, though notes for some of Warner’s papers survive in the Warner Collection in the Watkinson Library. The Club originally consisted of twenty members and the six annual meetings were from December through June. Today the Club has fifteen members and meets from October through June. Each meeting begins with dinner at seven, followed by the reading of a paper, the subject of which is chosen by the author, its title being given to other members in the notice of the meeting at which it will be read. After the paper is read, there is general discussion. The Watkinson Library is the designated repository of the Club’s archives. With a few exceptions, all of the collection is open to the public.

Series I: History of the Club

1. Manuscript sources*
2. Printed histories
3. Miscellaneous

Series II: Club Operations

1. Original Constitution
2. Correspondence
––(undated), 1900–1982
––1983–1984
––1985–
3. Financial records
4. Meetings
––Notices: 1920–1985
––Notices: 1986–
––Schedules
5. Membership
––Lists of members
––Nominations of members

Series III: Minute Books

1. January 18, 1869 to March 25, 1889
2. December 2, 1889 to April 28, 1913
3. December 8, 1913 to January 30, 1939
4. February 28, 1939 to May 5, 1958

Series IV: Papers

––Alsop, John de Koven, 1958– (14)*
––Alvord, Joel B. (1)
––Babbidge, Homer Daniels, Jr., 1969–1982 (7)
––Chapin, John C., Jr. (1)
––Cheney, Frank W., 1882–1908 (13)
––Cheney, Howell, 1922–1955 (8)
––Clark, Charles Hopkins, 1880–1923 (24)
––Cole, Charles J., 1978– (5)
––Cole, Francis W., 1956–1961 (2)
––Conklin, William P., 1957–1960 (2)
––Cooper, George Brinton, 1974– (3)
––Day, Arthur Pomeroy, 1951 (1)
––Day, Edward M., 1936–1940 (2)
––Dunham, Austin Cornelius, 1901–1910 (5)
––Eddy, Roger Whittlesey, 1964– (7)
––Enders, Ostrom, 1954–1979 (8)
––Ferguson, Samuel, 1926–1940 (5)
––Goodwin, Francis, II, 1958–1976 (8)
––Grant, Ellsworth, 1984– (3)
––Hammersley, William, 1915 (1)
––Hewes, Philip, 1962–1984 (10)
––Hewitt, Merritt A., 1958 (1
––King, John Hamilton, 1964–1971 (4)
––Lewis, Wilmarth Sheldon, 1952–1979 (11)
––Loomis, James Lee, 1938–1970 (12)
––Lovett, Sidney, 1981– (2)
––Maltbie, William M., 1960 (1)
––Maxim, Hiram Hamilton, 1952–1987 (15)
––Miller, Elliott C. (1)
––Nicholas, Frederick S., Jr., 1986– (1)
––Parsons, John Caldwell, 1950– (12)
––Perkins, Henry, 1930–1949 (5)
––Phinney, Arthur O., Jr., 1988– (2)
––Post, Russell L., Jr., 1982– (3)
––Robinson, Lucius Franklin, 1925–1938 (2
––Robinson, Lucius Franklin, Jr., 1950–1978 (12)
––Shipman, Arthur Leffingwell, 1912–1937 (6)
––Shipman, Arthur Leffingwell, Jr., 1962–1982 (9)
––Smith, Olcott Damon, 1950– (17)
––Smith, Robert H., Jr., 1985– (2)
––Trumbull, James Hammond, 1869 (1)
––Van Winkle, Edward Kingsland, Jr., 1956–1981 (12)
––Wilson, Eugene Edward, 1950–1953 (2)

* A dash precedes each folder title within a subseries. Subseries that are not followed by a listing of folders consist of only one folder.
**In Series IV a dash precedes the name of each member of the Club whose papers are in the archives. The dates that follow refer to the span of years for which there are papers for that member. A closed span of years indicates that the member is retired or deceased. An open span of years denotes an active member. The number in parentheses indicates the number of papers held.

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Prepared by Susan Spitler and Jeffrey H. Kaimowitz September 1989
Prepared for electronic publication by Michael J. Breen '99, July 1999.