Collections: F

Established in 1914 as one of a dozen federal reserve banks nationwide, the Boston Fed serves the six New England states. The collection consists of research reports issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 1959 projecting economic conditions for New England in the year 1970 for manufacturing industries, banking, electronic industry, and population and labor force.

This small collection consists of an incomplete run of forecasts and research reviews of the New England economy in anticipation of the new decade, 1970.

One of the most prominent and dedicated attorneys of our time, Kenneth R. Feinberg has assumed the important role of mediator in a number of complex legal disputes, often in the aftermath of public tragedies. Frequently these cases necessitate not only determining compensation to victims and survivors but also confronting the very question of the value of human life. A native of Brockton, Massachusetts, and a graduate of UMass Amherst (1967) and New York University School of Law (1970), Feinberg served as a clerk to Chief Judge Stanley H. Fuld, as a federal prosecutor, and as Chief of Staff for Senator Edward M. Kennedy. After acting as the mediator and special master of the high-profile Agent Orange settlement, he administered the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Virginia Tech’s Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, and the BP Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF). Feinberg has taught at several law schools; is the author of the books What is Life Worth? (the basis of the film Worth) and Who Gets What and numerous articles; and is a devotee of opera and classical music. He practices law in Washington, D.C., and continues to be guided by a commitment to public service.

The Feinberg Papers contain correspondence, memos, drafts, reports, research files, and memorabilia. The collection is arriving in stages and is being processed. Some materials will be restricted.

Attorney and UMass alumnus Kenneth R. Feinberg, well known as a mediator, special master of compensation funds, and dedicated public servant, is a longtime devotee of opera and classical music. Since his days as a law student in New York in the late 1960s, continuing through his career practicing law in Washington, D.C., Feinberg has regularly attended operas, concerts, musical theater, and other musical performances. He has also served as president of the Washington National Opera and led a private opera appreciation group.
This extensive collection of more than 1,000 items encompasses a wide range of composers, productions, concerts, companies, and venues, mainly in the United States, with some European performances represented. Documenting more than five decades of concert- and opera-going, and arranged in rough chronological order according to Feinberg’s numbering system, many of the programs are searchable by composer in an accompanying card index created by Feinberg (more recent programs are simply filed chronologically). There is also a small amount of related ephemera, including some vintage programs. Additions to the collection are ongoing.

A book collector, doodler, and bibliographical expert, Sigfried Feller was the University Library’s Chief Bibliographer and oversaw the Library’s collection development from 1967 to 1991. Feller, who was born in Essen, Germany and moved to America when he was two, began his academic career in the humanities, earning a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan in 1950 and an M.A. in German from the same school in 1951. His contact with scholars in Germany and his interest in German bibliography would stay with him throughout his professional career. Feller earned a Masters in Library Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1960 and would remain a librarian until his retirement.

The Siegfried Feller Papers document Feller’s professional career at the University through Feller’s correspondence with colleagues and professional organization as well as book dealers and collectors, including Otto Harrasowitz and Martinus Nijhoff. Also included in the collection are published and unpublished writings by Feller and annual reports from his department in the Library.

Carl R. Fellers, trained as a chemist and an expert in the nutritional value of cranberry juice, was a professor and head of the Food Technology department, now Food Science, at the University. Fellers was born in Hastings, New York in 1893, earned his B.A. from Cornell in 1915, his M.S. and Ph.D from Rutgers in 1918, and earned a Medal of Merit for fighting the influenza outbreak during World War I. Fellers began work at the University in 1925 and while a professor, conducted research in bacteriology and food preservation, research which he would eventually apply to the food preservation and distribution practices of the United States Army during World War II. Fellers also worked closely with the cranberry growers and producers organization The Cranberry Exchange to help preserve and determine the nutritional value of their products. Fellers retired from the University in 1957.

The Carl R. Fellers Papers document his research on cranberry preservation, nutrition, and his work with the cranberry growers and producers association through published articles on cranberry and general food preservation, correspondence with The Cranberry Exchange on matters of cranberry nutrition and product marketing, and a collection of pamphlets, reports, and clippings on cranberry production. A typescript, unpublished history of cranberries by Fellers is also included in the collection.

The title Earl of Derwentwater was created under King James II in 1688 for Francis Radcliffe of Northumberland, and for sixty years thereafter, members of the Radcliffe family stood among the most prominent Jacobites in the north of England. One of Francis’ grandson, James, the third Earl of Derwentwater, became embroiled in the Rebellion of 1715 and was beheaded in the London Tower for high treason, and another son, Charles, the so-called 4th Earl, was beheaded for his part in the Rebellion of 1745.

Assembled by John Fenwick, who may have been a distant relative of the Radcliffes, this collection of Radcliffiana includes a mixture of original documents, 19th century transcriptions of originals, published works, and prints, all pertaining to the Jacobite Earls of Derwentwater. Set into paper frames and bound into more or less elaborate leather volumes, the documents cover the period from the English Civil War through the fallout after the execution of the 3rd Earl. They are focused primarily on the personal fates of the Earls, their Northumberland estates, and the genealogy of the Radcliffe family.

Temporarily stored offsite; contact SCUA to request materials from this collection.

Ann Ferguson began her tenure at UMass as an Instructor in 1964 as she completed the last year of her doctoral work at Brown under supervision of R.M. Chisolm. With academic interests in ethics, aesthetics, women’s studies, and social and political philosophy, Ferguson has been politically engaged in human rights and social justice initiatives since the 1960s, supporting organizations such as Feminist Aid to Central America, Marxist Activist Philosophers, and the Radical Philosopher’s Association. In 1995, Ferguson accepted a three-year term as Director of Women’s Studies, describing the program as one with the “roots in political activism to fight social injustice.” Despite her 2008 retirement, Ferguson continues to teach in both Philosophy and Women’s Studies.
The Ferguson Papers document Ann Ferguson’s academic career at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as well as her commitment to political activism and social change. The papers include material relating to campus politics, the women’s movement and other social movements, Philosophy Department files (1971-1997) from Ferguson’s tenure as Head of the Philosophy Department, and course materials from both Women’s Studies and Philosophy. Also included among the papers are professional correspondence, feminist pamphlets (1970s-1980s), and several posters from Ferguson’s office.

During a long and productive career in natural history, Charles Fernald conducted important research in economic entomology and performed equally important work as a member of the faculty and administration at Massachusetts Agricultural College. Arriving at MAC in 1886 as a professor of zoology, Fernald served as acting President of the College (1891-1892) and as the first Director of the Graduate School (1908-1912), and perhaps most importantly, he helped for many years to nurture the Hatch Experiment Station.

Correspondence, published writings, publication notes, newspaper clippings, Massachusetts Board of Agriculture Reports, and biographical material including personal recollections of former student and colleague Charles A. Peters.

Henry T. Fernald received his doctorate in Zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1890, and after nine years on faculty at the Pennsylvania State College, he joined his father on the faculty of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. Like his father, Henry Fernald was an industrious and avid entomologist, and together the two expanded both the undergraduate and graduate curriculum in entomology. In addition to serving as Head of the Department of Entomology, Fernald followed his father as Director of the Graduate School at Massachusetts Agricultural College (1927-1930). A specialist in economic entomology and the systematics of the Hemiptera and Hymenoptera, Fernald also served as President of the Association of Economic Entomologists (1914).

Correspondence with colleagues, College administrators, including President Lewis, and alumni; biographical materials, news clippings and published writings.

Esma-Marie N’Doi Booth was born into a missionary family in the Belgian Congo in Dec. 1932, and attended school there until entering Boston University. She earned her degree in art and art history in 1954, the same year she married the philosopher Frederick Feree, and for much of the next four decades, she worked as an archivist at the colleges and universities where her husband found an academic home: Vanderbilt, Mount Holyoke, and Dickinson. After retiring to Northfield, Mass., in 2000, she became active in local history and historic preservation, including working as archivist for the Association for Gravestone Studies. She died in Greenfield, Mass., in 2016 at the age of 83.

The Ferre collection contains articles, news clippings, and notes on New England gravestones, along with several dozen images taken by Ferre in graveyards during the early 2000s, primarily in Massachusetts.