John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
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Helene and Estelle Philibert Papers, Manuscript MS 90.3, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Gift, 1990.
Helene and Estelle Philibert, researchers of Alexandria, Virginia, were employed by the Department of the Navy in a confidential capacity for many years and later assisted with naval history projects.
Papers include notes, printed pamphlets, brochures, catalogues and newspaper clippings, as well as typescripts and copies of documents. They pertain to the Philiberts' research on different topics and individuals. The bulk of the collection pertains to Helene Philibert's research on John Paul Jones (1747-1792) for Samuel Eliot Morisons's (1887-1976) work on Jones entitled John Paul Jones: a Sailor's Biography, c.1959. The Jones research contains copies of documents pertaining to or written by Jones. These papers concern primarily his arrival in America and his service in the United States Navy during the Revolution (1776-1781.)
Also includes correspondence between Samuel Eliot Morison and Helene Philibert documenting the research process, and clippings and photos pertaining to Jones and to Morison's career. Other topics and individuals include the Montague, Minor and Weeks families; the Ball family, especially Mary Washington Ball (1708-1789); the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), especially his 1824-25 visit to the United States, and the Society of the American Friends of Lafayette; and the Mason family, especially John Mason, the growth of Washington, D.C., and Gunston Hall.
This collection has been organized into 7 series:
Series 1. John Paul Jones Research
Series 2. Samuel Eliot Morison Publications
Series 3. Ball Family Research
Series 4. Lafayette Research
Series 5. Mason Family Research
Series 6. Montague/Minor/Weeks Research
Series 7. Miscellaneous Materials
Series 8. Oversize Materials
Photostats and transcripts of original documents used by the Philiberts and Samuel Morison in their research on John Paul Jones. Also includes one microfilm reel of photostats from Harvard University Library relating to Jones's niece, Janette Taylor, and used by the Philiberts while doing research for Samuel Eliot Morison.
Correspondence between Helene Philibert and Samuel Eliot Morison, as well as others, regarding the research on John Paul Jones; also includes some personal correspondence between the Philiberts and Samuel Eliot Morison.
Typed notes and excerpts from primary and secondary source material relating to John Paul Jones; concerns primarily his early life before and upon reaching the United States in 1773.
Photographs and pictures of John Paul Jones and his contemporaries, ships which they commanded, commemorative medals, and his birthplace. Most are official U.S. Navy photographs.
Printed articles by Samuel Eliot Morison on various subjects.
Printed articles by Samuel Eliot Morison on John Paul Jones including several manuscript copies of his article on the Willie Jones-John Paul Jones tradition.
Photostats and transcripts of original documents used by the Philiberts for their research on Mary Ball Washington and the Ball family.
The Philiberts' correspondence relating to research on Mary Ball Washington.
Incomplete manuscript of biography of Mary Ball Washington, probably by Helene or Estelle Philibert.
Printed material on the Ball family; includes genealogical charts, genealogies, and pictures.
Photostats and transcripts used by Helene Philibert; concerns the Marquis de Lafayette, especially his visit to the United States in 1824.
Photographs, negatives, and pictures of: Lafayette; Commodore Charles Morris, Commander of the ship that took Lafayette across the Atlantic for his 1824-25 tour of the United States; and memorials to Lafayette.
Newspaper clippings pertaining to the Marquis de Lafayette and the Society of the Friends of Lafayette.
Miscellaneous printed material relating to the American Friends of Lafayette, commemorative ceremonies in honor of Lafayette, and manuscript collections containing Lafayette memorabilia and papers.
Photostats and transcripts relating to the Mason family; including George Mason of Gunston Hall and his son, General John Mason.
Correspondence of the Philiberts relating to their research on the Mason family.
Photographs of portraits of General and Mrs. John Mason and other pictures relating to the Mason family.
Genealogical charts of the Mason family.
Photostats and transcripts relating to the Montague, Minor, and Weeks families.
Correspondence relating to research on the Montague, Minor, and Weeks families.
Printed genealogical material relating to Peter Montague and his descendants.
Correspondence including several letters to Malcolm McConihe, Democratic National Committeeman, from James Roosevelt, Cordell Hull and others. Also includes a letter from Melvin Laird to Helene Philibert.
Several nineteenth-century documents and letters relating to the Kearney family. Also includes Helene Philibert's Red Cross certificate and a few poems by unknown authors.
Photographs of James Forrestal, Secretary of Defense, in the late 1940s. Helene Philibert was a member of Forrestal's immediate staff and he personally inscribed several of these photos.
Catalogues of manuscript collections at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum and of United States Naval history sources.
Entered in Deed Book No. 26, Lancaster County.
Entered Middlesex County Will Book E, 1760-1772.
Entered in Middlesex County Will Book D, 1748-1760.
Entered in Lancaster County Inventories, 1650-1719.