]> ms.172 Machen (Minnie Gresham) Notebook 1874-1904 Ms. 172 Joan Grattan Special Collections, The Milton S. Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins University
3400 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218 USA Phone: (410) 516-8323
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Diwakar Bhandari Finding aid written in English Machen (Minnie Gresham) Notebook 1874-1904 Ms. 172 Special CollectionsThe Milton S. Eisenhower Library The Johns Hopkins University Contact Information Special Collections The Milton S. Eisenhower Library The Johns Hopkins University 3400 North Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218 (410) 516-8323 Joan Grattan August 1991 Diwakar Bhandari

©2003 The Johns Hopkins University

 Descriptive Summary Ms. 172 Machen (Minnie Gresham) Notebook 1874-1904 Machen, Minnie Gresham Johns Hopkins University. Special Collections 1 volume English The collection is formed by the holographic notebook of Minnie Gresham Machen. It is one bound volume with entries dated, 1874- 1904. Although the notebook covers a span of thirty years, there are relatively few entries for that amount of time. The writings in the notebook deal largely with religious subjects, but there are references to the poet, Sidney Lanier.The notebook begins with a lengthy description of a charismatic, religious service led by a minister named as Father Taylor, serving at the Seamen's Church in Boston, 1852. Two sermons of Father Taylor are recounted. This account is in the handwriting of someone other than Mrs. Machen. Persons attending the service identified themselves as Harvard Law School students, close friends, and Virginians. It is likely that these early pages of the notebook were written by Minnie Gresham Machen's husband, Arthur Webster Machen (1827-1915), a lawyer whose birthplace was Virginia.Following the church narrative are Mrs. Machen's writings which include a few religious meditations and a family remembrance. Mrs. Machen noted that one essay, "The Art of Self Control," was later published in The Central Presbyterian. Of interest are Mrs. Machen's thoughts about Sidney Lanier. She copied into her notebook an extract from a letter written to Lanier's biographer, Edwin Mims. Mrs. Machen referred to Lanier's difficulties in the Reconstruction period and his later proposal to offer a lecture series on Shakespeare for women (eventually given, 1878-1879). Mrs. Machen's final entry in 1904, is a reflection on the nobility of poetry. Administrative Information Provenance

The collection was given to the University by Mrs. Arthur W. Machen, Jr.

Use Restrictions

Access to this collection is unrestricted.

Permission to publish material from this collection must be requested in writing from the Manuscripts Librarian, Milton S. Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Md. 21218.

 Preferred Citation

Minnie Gresham Machen Notebook Ms. 172 Special Collections, Milton S. Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins University

Biographical Note

Minnie Gresham Machen was a writer of religious literature. She was the daughter of John J. Gresham and, most likely, was born in Virginia. She married Arthur Webster Machen (1827-1915) who was born at Walney, Fairfax County, Virginia. Minnie and Arthur Webster Machen resided in Baltimore city where Mr. Machen practiced law.

Mrs Machen contributed articles to The Southern Presbyterian, The Central Presbyterian, and published The Bible in Browning in 1903. She was acquainted with the poet, Sidney Lanier, and his wife, Mary Day Lanier. Mrs. Machen attended a series of Shakespeare lectures presented by Lanier at the Peabody Institute, 1878-1879. When Edwin Mims was researching his biography of Sidney Lanier, he asked Mrs. Machen to record her reminiscences. Her impressions were used in Mim's published biography, Sidney Lanier (1905).

Mrs. Machen was the mother of Arthur Webster Machen (1877-1950), a Baltimore lawyer; John Gresham Machen (1881-1937), a Presbyterian minister and religious writer; and Thomas Gresham Machen (1886-), a Baltimore architect. The three men received their undergraduate degrees at The Johns Hopkins University. Mrs. Machen's dates of birth and death were not found.